AP file photo Gov. Tom Wolf

With COVID on the rise during the holiday season, Pennsylvania officials are trying to head off an increase in the surge.

During a press briefing on Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced new recommendations and new restrictions.

They did not announce school closures or a return to the “red, yellow, green, draconian steps” taken months ago.

One of the changes goes into effect on Wednesday — and will be removed on Thursday.

Bars and restaurants state-wide will not be allowed to serve alcohol after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“Today, we are adding additional safeguards as we head into the holiday season,” Levine said.

Those measures are “intended to help stop the spread” and protect hospitals ability to care for patients whether they have COVID-19 or not, to protect health care workers, and generally keep Pennsylvanians safe.

Levine said modeling has predicted the state’s hospitals will run out of intensive care beds by December “if we do nothing.”

“If our health care system is compromised, it’s not only COVID patients who are going to suffer,” she said.

Wolf said he understood that bars and restaurants have already been “hit hard” and acknowledged that Wednesday is normally a profitable day.

“We hate it,” he said of continuing to put stress on bars and restaurants. “We’ve got to recognize, as tough as that is, it’s even tougher if people die.

“The biggest day for drinking is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” he said. “When people get together in that situation, it leads to an exchange of the fluids that lead to infection.”

He asked people to think of public safety rather than “whether we want to get a transitory benefit from going out with friends for drinks. This is the kind of thing and the kind of place that actually speeds up the transmission of this disease.”

“Let’s just do this,” he said. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel… If we do this, and we’re successful, we’re going to make it through this really tough patch, to when we have a vaccine.”

The recommendation against gatherings remains and applies to family Thanksgiving events.

“We are advising against gatherings with people who are not part of your household,” Levine said. “Even if they are part of your extended family… puts your family at risk.”

There is a new cap on events, regardless of masking and distancing measures that are taken. No gathering of more than 500 indoors nor 2,500 outdoors are permitted.

Schools in areas where there have been consecutive weeks of ‘substantial transmission’ are recommended to go to full-remote.

Warren County is not one of those areas. Yet.

For the week ending Nov. 20, Warren County was listed as having substantial transmission. In the previous week, the county’s status was moderate.

Under the state’s current listing, areas with moderate transmission are recommended to offer blended or fully remote education.

If the county has a second consecutive week of substantial transmission, schools could remain open to in-person instruction.

“The decision on instructional models is a local one,” Levine said.

Schools in areas with two weeks of substantial transmission may continue to offer in-person education. However, superintendents and school boards are required to sign an attestation that they are following all guidelines — masking, distancing where possible, and responsible to cases.

“Those that do not sign or do not comply, will be required to provide only fully-remote learning, and suspend all extra-curricular activities,” Levine said.

Asked about a return to the ‘red, yellow, green’ phases, Wolf said he did not see a scenario when that would be prudent.

He said that initial response came at a time when there was little information and the state was not prepared to contain the virus in other ways.

“In March and April, we were trying to buy time,” he said. “We have a lot more in terms of resources than we did back then.”

“We have been doing everything we can to make sure that we never have to return to those red, yellow, green, draconian steps,” Wolf said. “I can’t think that that would make any sense. We’re trying to balance the needs of a very fragile economy with the need to keep safe. I want to do everything I can to keep from trashing our economy the way we did in April.”