What to Know
- Pennsylvania's Health Department is asking a state court to shut down an auto show set to begin Wednesday that typically draws about 100,000 people due to coronavirus concerns.
- The agency filed a request for an injunction against Carlisle Events to stop the Spring Carlisle event that runs through Saturday from being held.
- The lawsuit calls the show dangerous and says it needs to be stopped.
A large auto show in central Pennsylvania poses a risk to the public due to coronavirus concerns and should be shut down, the state Department of Health argued in an emergency court filing made Wednesday.
The agency told Commonwealth Court in a request for an injunction that the Spring Carlisle auto show did not respond to a letter that directed it to comply with the 250-person limit on gatherings that is currently imposed on Cumberland County.
The event is scheduled to begin Wednesday and run through Saturday.
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Business closures and social distancing have saved lives, lawyers for the Health Department said.
“When individuals choose to ignore those safeguards — such as by holding an event anticipating 100,000 attendees — they put the lives of Pennsylvanians at risk and threaten to reverse the significant progress that has been made to resolve this crisis. That dangerous conduct must be stopped before it can occur,” they told the court.
The defendant, Carlisle Productions, Inc., also known as Carlisle Events, has held the spring auto show at the Carlisle Fairgrounds since 1976. It typically draws about 100,000 people, although organizers say they expect a smaller crowd for this year's event.
Carlisle Events spokesman Mike Garland said the organization has put in place safety measures in response to the pandemic. He had no comment on the injunction request.
“We were made aware of it very early this morning,” Garland said. “At this point we would have no additional comment as we're still in conference with counsel.”
The state's legal filing included the letter sent to the organization on Tuesday by Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary. It says Carlisle Events did not respond, as requested, by late Tuesday.
Levine’s said in the letter that she was aware that the events are generally held outside, although there are buildings with vendors and exhibits.
“However, the large number of persons who typically attend, the wide variety of locations from which they travel, and the fact that they will congregate in hotels and restaurants throughout the area creates a strong potential for the spread of infection,” Levine wrote.
Levine’s letter also warned of legal liability if people at the show become infected, as well as criminal and civil penalties under the state’s Disease Prevention and Control Law.
