Sen. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyGOP senators push for quick, partial reopening of economy NSA improperly collected US phone records in October, new documents show Overnight Defense: Pick for South Korean envoy splits with Trump on nuclear threat | McCain blasts move to suspend Korean military exercises | White House defends Trump salute of North Korean general MORE (R-Pa.) on Thursday offered his own three-phase plan for gradually opening Pennsylvania’s economy, becoming one of the first members of Congress to put together a detailed proposal for moving past social distancing and quarantines.
The senator's plan shares many similarities with the one released by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on Wednesday evening, though it has some key differences.
Toomey, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a leading Senate policy authority on multiple issues, said most of the state should resume some level of economic activity immediately given that “Pennsylvania’s health care systems [are] not being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.”
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The senator wants to provide Pennsylvania counties with flexibility to account for “isolated statistical anomalies” and allow doctors and hospitals to resume elective procedures immediately, as long as safety benchmarks are met.
He said at-risk health care workers, including those in nursing homes, should have access to expanded and improved testing.
“No one plan will account for all the variables that we must address to open Pennsylvania in a gradual and safe manner. I look forward to working with the Wolf administration on addressing these challenges,” he said.
Toomey told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week that he would like to reopen parts of the economy “very, very soon” and called many of the strict shutdowns of economic activities imposed by governors “draconian.”
The senator also argued that elective health procedures should be allowed to resume because “it is abundantly clear that our hospitals are not in danger of being overrun” and that "in most of the state — and definitely in the central and western parts of the state — our hospitals are virtually empty because they’ve not been allowed to do elective procedures.”
Pennsylvania has 35,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,622 deaths related to the virus, according to data released by the state's health department on Wednesday.
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Under Toomey’s plan, state and local officials will move from phase to phase of his plan when counties show that local hospital capacity is not at risk of being overwhelmed and minimal transmission of coronavirus within their populations.
In phase one, any business that can adopt social distancing and hygiene protocols and is located in a county with a declining or limited number of coronavirus cases may reopen. Medically necessary health procedures unrelated to COVID-19 may also resume in those counties, according to the plan.
In phase two, establishments such as restaurants, bars and gyms would be allowed to reopen with proper social distancing and hygiene protocols.
In phase three, which would depend on increased testing capacity and the development of effective therapies for the coronavirus, restrictions would be relaxed on restaurants, bars and gyms, while entertainment venues, such as theaters and concert halls, could also begin to reopen.
Toomey asserts that two-thirds of Pennsylvania may already meet specific data-based criteria to allow businesses to resume activities.
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April 24, 2020 at 01:59AM
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Toomey offers plan for reopening Pennsylvania economy | TheHill - The Hill
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