Gov. Wolf Urged To 'Declare Emergency On Omicron' Amid Ongoing Surge

PENNSYLVANIA — The pandemic has been deeply divisive and politicized from its onset, and nearly two years on, intense debate continues within factions on both sides of the aisle over the government's role in fighting the virus.

With the omicron variant fueling the highest surge in cases in Pennsylvania yet, some lawmakers are urging Gov. Tom Wolf to declare a state of emergency. But the governor, who has seen some of his emergency powers stripped and orders nullified by a GOP legislature resistant to his edicts, says he has no plans to institute a shutdown or statewide mask mandate.

“The vaccine is our strategy and people need to get the vaccine," Gov. Wolf reiterated in his regularly scheduled appearance on the KDKA radio show out of Pittsburgh.

State Rep. Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery County) says that's not enough, and that the state needs the broad sweeping powers afforded by a declaration of a state of emergency.

"Maryland has done so," he wrote Tuesday. "Delaware has done so. Several counties here in Pennsylvania have done so. What is more alarming is the haphazard guidance and decision-making provided to school leaders throughout the commonwealth and the pleas for help that I am regularly hearing from those leaders."

Nelson argued that teachers, school children, and healthcare workers badly needed stronger protective measures that could only be applied through the state of emergency's "resources and regulatory flexibility." It's a position shared by many teachers around the state. A teenager died in a Philadelphia school from the virus last month, which sparked a mass protest and walkout by dozens of teachers who said the district had not done enough to protect faculty and children. The American Teachers Federation's Pennsylvania wants either significantly stricter mitigation measures, or a requirement that all schools go virtual for a week. The Pennsylvania State Education Association fought for the mask mandate that was eventually shot down as unconstitutional by the PA Supreme Court.

But suddenly these groups, including teachers, unions, some healthcare workers, and Democratic lawmakers, find themselves effectively opposing the governor, who is pushing for a vaccine-first, more moderate approach. Health policy leaders share the governor's view: the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's PolicyLab said last week thatsecuring in-person schooling outweighed the risk of transmission of the virus, and recommended a loosening of restrictions in preparation for a "normalization" of the fight against the virus.

Rep. Nelson suggested that do so would put the state in a dangerous hole as institutions "buckle under the current shift" in the virus.

"Declare today your intention to combat the emergent lack of staffing," Nelson wrote to the governor. "Declare today your intention to assist with school contact tracing. Declare today your intention to direct resources to school transportation. Declare today your intention to provide the help and respite that our frontline workers need."

The governor's use of such executive declarations is an issue of sharp contention, and is a flash point for Republicans and others experiencing pandemic fatigue who voted to restrict his unilateral powers during last spring's primary. It's not clear to what degree, if any, this may be influencing his administration's willingness to declare a state of emergency now. What is known is that Wolf's office did react to the state Supreme Court's tossing of the mask mandate, as former Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam resigned within days.

While the actual policies may differ, the state's talking points remain in line with the spirit of the voices on the left calling for stricter measures. Hospitalizations are continuing to overwhelm healthcare facilities statewide, new Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said Tuesday afternoon. "While initial data suggest that fewer patients are being admitted specifically for COVID-19, there are more patients who test positive upon arrival," she said.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 grew statewide by 18.3 percent on Jan. 10 over the week previous, according to state statistics Klinepeter released.