Allegheny Co. officials looking at changing event limits, outdoor dining as COVID-19 cases continue to spike

PITTSBURGH — Coronavirus cases continue to rise in Allegheny County, hitting more than 200 new cases for the third consecutive day.

“There were times when we were at one, two, three percent positivity rates. Now, we’re consistently hitting nine, 10, 11 percent positivity rates,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

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The spike in cases led the county health department to shut down restaurants, bars and casinos for one week.  An order scheduled to expire Friday morning.

If that will happen remains unclear tonight.

Fitzgerald confirmed on Thursday the health department is working on a revised order, but offered little information on what it will entail.

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It comes as the Pennsylvania Health Department is expected to implement restrictions on in-person dining on several nearby counties.

“We will continue to coordinate with them because we’re not an island. It’s not like things that happen here don’t spread out or things that happen in these rural counties don’t come into Allegheny County.

Restaurants are still allowed to offer takeout with this order in place, but several people we spoke with hope they’ll be able to come back to dine sooner rather than later.

Gov. Wolf: “Allegheny Co. is a big area of concern” Gov. Wolf: “Allegheny Co. is a big area of concern”

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