Gov. Wolf talking with sports leagues, says it could take until vaccine for Pennsylvania to reach ‘normal’
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Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday he is talking with professional sports leagues about holding events in Pennsylvania, but he doesn’t believe residents will be completely comfortable going back to pre-pandemic normalcy until there is a coronavirus vaccine.
“Ultimately, I think what it’s going to take for everybody to feel safe going to a Penn State game or a basketball game is they have some confidence that they’re not going to get sick by being in close contact with somebody else,” he said during a call with reporters.
He said going back to “normal” will hinge on Pennsylvanians feeling fully and truly safe.
“I think that’s what it’s going to take to really get our economy back to normal, and I really think that can’t happen fully, 100%, until we have a vaccine that is foolproof,” Wolf said.
On Friday, 49 of the state’s 67 counties will have moved to the yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan, a phase that lifts the state’s stay-at-home order and allows for retail shopping under certain restrictions.
Wolf said he is in talks with professional sports leagues to come up with a plan for “how we can move to some semblance of normalcy as we get back to sports seasons.”
He has spoken with the NFL, NHL, MLB and NASCAR. He said his office will issue guidance for leagues soon. He noted that with so many different activities and venues, the guidelines need to be consistent and make sense.
As for NASCAR, set to race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond in late June, Wolf said earlier this week he thinks the race could happen without fans if Monroe County is in the yellow phase by then.
“I think what it’s going to take to get people back to big events — indeed, what it’s going to take to get people back to shopping, to work , to school — is going to be, ultimately, a vaccine,” Wolf said. “Some assurance they’re not going to get sick.”