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Trump Makes Appeals to Pennsylvania Voters Two Weeks Before Election Day

Steve Herman

   WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Pennsylvania get
   back to normal business operations at a time the state is seeing a
   spike in coronavirus cases.

   "What the hell is happening in Pennsylvania?" Trump asked the crowd at
   his Tuesday evening campaign rally at Erie International Airport, in
   the western part of the crucial swing state for the November3 general
   election.

   Expressing frustration with pandemic restrictions imposed by Governor
   Tom Wolf, a member of the Democratic Party, the president said
   "Pennsylvania has been shut down long enough. Get your governor to open
   up Pennsylvania."

   Wolfe issued a renewed plea on Monday to Pennsylvanians to work
   together to stop the spread of the virus.

   Every part of the state is seeing community spread of COVID-19, partly
   due to "relatively small gatherings of families and friends," said Dr.
   Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania's top health official.

   The number of people hospitalized from COVID-19 in the state has
   doubled in thepast four weeks, but it is still more than three times
   lower than at its peak in late April.

   Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence, hasbeen making frequent
   campaign appearances in the state, seen as critical for their
   re-election chances in two weeks.

   Wolf has criticized the Trump campaign for holding "unsafe rallies that
   will put Pennsylvania communities at risk" of COVID-19 outbreaks.

   A letter signed by more than 75 physicians in Pennsylvania urged people
   not to attend Tuesday's rally, saying such campaign events endanger
   public health and give a false impression that the coronavirus is "no
   longer with us."

   Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden, a native of Pennsylvania, has also
   frequently been in the state but has followed social-distancing
   guidelines, minimizing the number of attendees and requiring all in
   attendance to wear masks.

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