CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) -- Indoor dining is allowed, and gyms are open again, in Pennsylvania after coronavirus restrictions, tightened by the state last month, were eased Monday morning.
Indoor recreation and health facilities, including gyms and spas, can allow 50% capacity. Restaurants that have secured certification with the state, can allow customers back in for 50% capacity as well.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced last Wednesday that strict mitigation efforts, put in place on Dec. 12, would be allowed to expire at 8 a.m. on Monday.
“Our mitigation efforts over the past several weeks are working, and I thank everyone who abided by the restrictions put in place to protect us,” Wolf said in a prepared statement.
Restrictions were tightened because of a post-Thanksgiving surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine say the measures “helped to begin flattening the curve of new cases.”
John O'Brien said, owner of Brunch, on Fayette Street in Conshohocken, says he saw an immediate boost. When the crew morning going, he says, it felt like old times -- or at least how it felt in early December before restrictions were tightened.
"As soon as we opened the doors, we had half our dining room full at 8 a.m.," owner John O'Brien said.
He says he’s thankful to have people inside again after a difficult few weeks.
"Toward the holidays, and I guess right after the holidays, we really took a steep nosedive."
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The outdoor dining, takeout and delivery options were just not enough to make up for lost business, he said, but he’s hopeful things will move in the right direction now, especially as more people get vaccinated.
"We’ve already had all the spacing done. We’ve had the partitions put in both sides, so we’re 100% ready to go," Bill Weber, the owner of Flanigan’s Boathouse nearby on Fayette Street, told NBC 10.
“It’s awesome. I mean, we can get people inside, where we desperately need people. It’s just way too cold outside."
Philadelphia, which put its own “Safer at Home” restrictions in place on Nov. 20, earlier than the rest of the state, will ease or continue mitigation efforts at its own pace.
Gyms, museums and casinos are allowed to open in Pennsylvania at 50% of maximum capacity, even in Philadelphia. However, there will be no indoor dining in the city through at least Jan. 15.
Public health officials are still stressing caution, especially with fears that there could be another surge of cases following the winter holidays.