Under fire from business groups and Republican lawmakers over a broad shutdown order designed to slow the spreading of the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolf's administration defended its actions as critical to preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed but also made a series of concessions.

Late Friday afternoon, Gov. Tom Wolf released an updated list of businesses allowed to keep physical operations open under his Thursday order to close “non-life-sustaining” businesses to stem the spread of the coronavirus, following criticism from state Republican leaders and business groups.

The updated list — which can be viewed online at on.pa.gov/3bkxwKB — permits timber and mining operations, as well as printing, tax preparation and dry cleaning businesses to keep a physical presence with no limitations. Other operations, such as insurance agencies, are permitted to remain open but with restrictions.

Wolf also released a list of answers to frequently asked questions, noting that businesses may continue to work remotely, closed businesses may have on-site personnel to “maintain critical functions” and enforcement of the order is expected to begin with a warning and progressively escalate. Enforcement of the order, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, should be prioritized to focus on businesses where people congregate, Wolf added.

Earlier in the day, Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives issued a scathing response to Wolf’s order.

A news release from the House Republican Caucus accuses the Wolf administration of setting off a state-wide panic, calling his actions ill-prepared and an economic blow to workers that will have long-term ramifications.

“There needs to be a lot more clarification from the governor on what he deems essential and non-essential,” said state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, in response to the order. “Every business is essential and life-sustaining to someone — whether they have one employee or 100 employees.”

Like many state leaders, Mustello said Friday that she has been on the phone since the order came out Thursday shortly before 5 p.m. From small business owners to the county’s major manufacturers, the representative whose district includes Butler, eight townships and eight boroughs said she has heard from a wide array of concerned constituents.

Mustello agreed with caucus leaders, calling the governor’s decision not only quick, but confusing.

“Any announcement in an emergency event such as this calls for clear and efficient lines of communication, but the open-ended and short noticed announcement today is the complete opposite and only adds to the sense of chaos many Pennsylvanians are struggling with,” Republican leaders wrote in their response.

The caucus raised concerns the state’s many small, family owned shops and businesses could end up being shuttered permanently by Wolf’s shutdown.

Steve Hutchinson, owner of Hutchinson’s Dry Cleaners said Friday morning that Wolf’s order “forced his hand” to close at the end of business Friday — a decision he’d been grappling with since the first order came down earlier in the week. The third generation business owner said he’d been struggling with what to do as much of the daily traffic coming through the doors of his three locations has nearly come to a standstill since last weekend.

“I’ve not seen a senior citizen in my front door,” Hutchinson said of the largest base of his clientele. “They’re the ones heeding the warnings and staying home.”

Hutchinson employs about 20 full-time and part-time employees. He said the skeleton crew at his Butler store Friday spent the day calling customers with clothes at the store to let them know about the closing. The shop was already closed by the time Wolf’s updated list was released. “The sprawling and confusing list provided by the governor is provided with no explanation, and we will explore all avenues available to us to determine whether the action he’s taken is allowed within our state Constitution,” the caucus release said.

The release further urged state leaders to recognize they must have the ability to create economic opportunities for everyone in Pennsylvania.

“We are compelled to raise our voice on behalf of millions of hard-working Pennsylvanians who are already making enormous sacrifices in the face of this worldwide event, none of which was of their own choosing,” leaders argued against the Wolf’s order.

Also responding critically to Wolf’s executive order was John Krahe, president and CEO of the Manufacturer & Business Association based in Erie. While Krahe applauded the state’s efforts to prioritize strategies in response to COVID-19 on one hand, he also cautioned implementing such measures without stakeholder consideration on the other.

He argued the governor’s decision did not take into account the physical reality of modern industrial practices.

“In uncertain times, well-intentioned, hasty decisions can do more harm than good,” Krahe said. “As far as we understand, no industry specific or business organizations were consulted to determine the governor’s definition of ‘non-life-sustaining,’ or how businesses that were not granted exemptions would suffer.”

Eagle staff writers Paula Grubbs and Alex J. Weidenhof and Andie Hannon, Eagle managing editor, contributed to this report.