Anti-shutdown protesters asked reopening of Pennsylvania

Hundreds of people gathered outside the state Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday for a rally to “reopen” Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania residents keep a stay-at-home order, which public health experts consider essential to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Protests against the lock-down have taken hold across the country, especially in those states run by Democratic governors. Trump himself has encouraged the protesters to “free” the states and has called them “very responsible people.

While the demonstration to reopen the state was taking place, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 948 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 33,232. The department also reported 92 new deaths among positive cases, bringing the statewide total to 1,204.

You can read: Tom Wolf presented three-step plan to return to the “new normal”

Anthony Fauci, a member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force and the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, is calling on demonstrators to keep social distancing guidelines and not gather in large groups to go against stay-at-home orders.

“Unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen,” Fauci said during an interview. “If you jump the gun, and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re going to set yourself back. So as painful as it is to go by the careful guidelines of gradually phasing into a reopening, it’s going to backfire.”

However, protesters claim they want them to be able to reopen safely, while practicing social distancing and offering workers’ protections.

Chris Dorr, an Ohio based far-right activist participated in the organization of Monday’s demonstration. The gun activist created a Facebook group called “Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine.”

At the Capitol, state Rep. Aaron Bernstin led chants and asked protesters to tell Wolf to sign a bill aimed at reopening some businesses closed amid the government-ordered shutdowns.

“These leaders must not focus on just the lives at risk from the horrible virus,” he said. “Many lives like yours are in danger from a shuttered business, the hunger and homelessness.

State Rep. Russ Diamond also spoke to the crowd, telling them, “I believe that every one of you is essential and that every one of your businesses and jobs is life-sustaining.”

State Sen. Judy Ward questioned government mandates, saying: “Do we need the government to mandate that certain business close? No. Do we need the government to mandate that we must wear a face mask? Or how about businesses that have to provide face masks that aren’t available?”

Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel Levine last week both urged people to stay the course.

“Let’s continue to make this good progress and keep people safe, and when the time is right, we will reopen and liberate every single Pennsylvanian,” Wolf said.