Soon after Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the country, requests for a directory of Black-owned businesses started flowing into the office of the Harrisburg-based African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Pennsylvania.

Beginning today, anyone leaving their homes are required to wear a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to an order issued by Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

The recipients included barbershops and salons (21%), retail stores (18%) and restaurants and food businesses (17%). More than 55% are located in downtown Lancaster.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced on Friday that 12 more counties will be moving to the green phase on June 12 as part of the state’s phased reopening plan.

Penn State Health expanded its patient visitation guidelines to allow designated family members or support people to visit under specific guidelines.

Gov. Tom Wolf will need to expand liability protections to manufacturers, small businesses and more health care providers or risk Pennsylvania businesses refusing to open for fear of frivolous COVID-19 related lawsuits, said a coalition of state associations.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill into law a bill that will provide $500 million in emergency funding to help long-term care providers stop the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities.

A bill that would use $500 million in federal COVID-19 relief to help nursing homes, assisted living communities and personal care homes combat the spread of the virus is on Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk awaiting his signature.

A new order from Gov. Tom Wolf offers more guidance on what businesses may and may not do as their counties transition from yellow to green under Pennsylvania’s reopening plan.

While protesters gathered at the state Capitol Building for a second time to call on Gov. Wolf to reopen the state, a single truck pulling a digital billboard provided a counter point to the event.

As businesses open throughout central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, legal and human resources experts are urging businesses to avoid liability issues by understanding the ever-evolving rules, especially as regions open in various phases without liability protections in place.

Even though some county district attorneys have said they will not prosecute business that open in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolfs shut down order, Pennsylvania State Police will continue to issue warnings and citations, officials say.

Pennsylvania’s Health Disparity Task Force is calling for health care organizations to include race and ethnicity data when reporting COVID-19 test results to the state. The task force, formally announced on April 15, is designed to foster health care equality for minorities. 

Residential and non-residential construction in Pennsylvania is set to resume May 8, but projects deemed life-sustaining continued across the commonwealth with only a short delay, including some by regional health care systems.

Pennsylvania State Police are giving written warnings to Pennsylvanians who don’t comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to wear a mask, but state officials are mostly relying on Pennsylvanians to “self enforcing” the directive.