One year after coronavirus began to disrupt daily life here in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday acknowledged the severe toll that COVID-19 and his severe restrictions have taken on his state but said that he sees “light at the end of the tunnel” with the growing availability of vaccines. Wolf announced on March 6, 2020, that Pennsylvania had confirmed its first two cases of the new coronavirus. Since then, Pennsylvania has counted more than 944,000 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 and attributed more than 24,200 deaths to it. But now he says he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been trending down for weeks after a January peak. More than 868,000 people have been fully vaccinated in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Health, and Wolf asserts the state’s vaccine rollout is showing signs of improvement after early stumbles. Republican lawmakers, some business owners and others pushed back against Wolf’s pandemic restrictions, but now, with cases on the decline, the Democratic governor has eased up. This week, Wolf said bigger crowds would be allowed at indoor and outdoor events. He also did away with a quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers.
