Part of the state strike is a ban on eating and working indoors at fitness clubs.
Crunch Fitness, which owns a gym.
At Cruncheon in the Fairless Hills, people sweated all day despite the strike order.
Its CEO, who refused the camera interview for fear of backlash, said the company is open by phone, refusing to let the governor float. And many businesses are doing just that.
“We put these people in a very unacceptable position,” said Jean Barr, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. “It’s very sad. We’ll see small businesses, all kinds of businesses and sizes getting out of business.”
Bar echoed several gym and restaurant owners telling off-camera action messages: “They can’t escape another strike.”
Drive to the parking lot of many shopping centers, there are vacancies.
The Energy Station Restaurant in Harleysville is another establishment that promises to stay open.
Its owners have also refused a camera interview, but cannot be shut down by them or their staff.
Trigger funds have dried up since the spring.
“Not even one person I spoke to wanted to make themselves sick, their employee must have been sick, or the customer did not want to be sick,” Barr said.
But people are dying at a dangerous rate from COVID-19.
Many hospitals are overcrowded.
Health officials hope to get a handle on the multi-week suspension situation during the holidays and buy time until the vaccine is widely out.
“We put these people in a very unacceptable position and it’s very sad,” Barr said.
Look at the future federal funding hopes to help reduce some of the burdens.
“We hope this stimulus package goes to small businesses in Washington,” Barr said.
Businesses that violate state orders may face hefty fines and license revocation.
Copyright © 2020 WPVI-TV. All rights reserved.