HAZLETON, Pa. — The Hazleton area is one of the hardest-hit spots by the coronavirus in our area.
The virus forced leaders to go beyond Governor Tom Wolf's restrictions, like a curfew and other rules limiting gatherings in the city.
Now the city of Hazleton is looking forward to moving on from the health crisis.
Newswatch 16's Chelsea Strub spoke with Mayor Jeff Cusat Wednesday afternoon, and he says Hazleton is not out of the woods, but ready to move-on.
Cusat says the curfew had been lifted, but before the curfew was put in place, COVID-19 cases in the city were doubling daily and at one point, reaching more than 100 cases a day. Now Hazleton is seeing less than 10 cases a day, and he says the city, and it's businesses are ready to reopen with safety measures in place.
"Those where it's one-on-one where you know your customer and you know the person you're going to see and you can make that environment as safe as possible. I think those need to be opened up as soon as possible, and anything that is outside, I believe, should be opened now, but obviously, it falls on the governor. He has ultimate say in what goes on, but I really think that we have shown great strides where we came from. You know we were the highest in the nation, per capita, and now we're ready to reopen," said Mayor Cusat.
The mayor says he's proud of Hazleton and the neighboring communities for banding together and supporting one another to get through this crisis.
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