Deadline looms for Pennsylvania virus-shutdown waivers
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
Pennsylvania businesses are running out of time if they want an exemption from Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown order. Wolf has ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shutter their physical locations to help slow the spread of the coronavirus but established a waiver process for companies that believe they should be exempt. The deadline to apply is Friday. The state has received more than 34,000 waiver requests through Wednesday, approving about 5,600 and denying more than 8,600. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Thursday that over 1,200 additional people tested positive for the virus, bringing the total to over 7,000. There were 16 new deaths for a statewide toll of 90.