Wayne County declares state of emergency

HONESDALE, PA — The Wayne County Commissioners have signed an emergency disaster declaration related to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

 “This declaration allows us to access additional federal streams, gives the county additional flexibility and restricts public access to certain county facilities,” Commissioners Brian Smith, Joe Adams and Jocelyn Cramer said in a joint statement.

According to a press release, the commissioners met with department heads on Monday morning “to discuss updated efforts the county is taking to follow federal and state recommendations to help curtail the spread of the virus while also maintaining county operations at a high level.”

“County services are essential at this time. The prison will remain open, caseworkers will continue to protect children and our senior centers will continue to feed our elderly population, but we have to reevaluate how to best do that now,” said Smith.

Daily communications with the Department of Health, Governor Tom Wolf’s office, the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) and other counties continue to inform the procedural decisions the commissioners are considering.

Some measures have already been taken to protect our population including:

• County Senior Centers will provide take-out meals and home-delivered meals but will not be open to the public for gatherings.
• No non-essential county business travel outside of Wayne County will take place.
• If county employees have a fever or are showing any signs of illness, they are asked to please stay home.
• The County Emergency Operations Center will be closed to all non-employees.
• There will be no visitors allowed at the Wayne County Correctional Facility, including volunteers.

“This is a fluid situation, and one that is likely to change daily. The Wayne County Commissioners have made this their top priority and will continue to work round the clock with many stakeholders to make the best decisions for our community,” Adams said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed 13 additional positive cases of COVID-19—two in Allegheny County; one in Bucks County; six in Montgomery County; two in Monroe County; and two in Philadelphia County. All are either in isolation at home or being treated at the hospital. This brings the statewide total to 76 cases. Confirmed cases also include those from commercial and hospital laboratories. There remains just one positive test of a Wayne County resident.

“Here at Wayne County, we continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation throughout the day and night. Our maintenance department has been disinfecting and cleaning with CDC approved products multiple times a day in all county facilities and will continue to do so,” Cramer said.

Wayne County Chief Clerk Andrew M. Seder noted that “operations are being reviewed in conjunction with state and federal authorities and departments but at this time we continue to serve the public’s needs as required. Commissioners, the human services administrator, the court administrator and myself have been in constant contact and are making decisions based on the best available information, which, of course, is constantly in flux. We will continue to monitor what is going on and provide updates as we get them.”

The press release further states: "While some things are being implemented in certain counties across the state regarding closures of bars, restaurants, liquor stores, drivers license centers, retail outlets and other businesses, Wayne County has not received word of any such mandated closures here. We have reached out to our partners at the Chamber of the Northern Poconos and Greater Honesdale Partnership to alert their members of programs the state and federal governments are offering to help them get through the next few weeks and we thank everyone for their cooperation."

Residents with questions regarding the coronavirus are encouraged to call the state hotline at 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258).