The Pennsylvania Department of Education is working on issuing guidance to school districts in the next day or so after a recent court decision struck down capacity limits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Tom Wolf has limited gatherings of 25 people indoors and 250 people outside to curb the spread of the virus.

Four western Pennsylvania counties and several Republican state lawmakers sued, and on Monday a federal judge ruled the stay-at-home and business closure orders, as well as the capacity limits, were unconstitutional.

At a news conference Wednesday on legalizing marijuana, Wolf was asked about the legal decision as school sports, notably football, have started or are set to begin this weekend around the state.

The state House and Senate each passed a bill allowing schools to decide on crowd sizes for sport events, but Wolf has vowed to veto the bill.

Some districts have opened stadiums to spectators beyond the 250-person limit, and others plan to do so after Monday’s federal court decision.

Wolf said school districts have been making their own decisions during the pandemic, and his administration wants to issue guidance on things like event attendance by Thursday or Friday.

The state has focused keeping people from gathering close together, Wolf said. He noted Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for President Donald Trump, recently praised Pennsylvania’s response to the pandemic and the statewide restrictions placed on restaurants and bars.

“We’ve tried to do it right in Pennsylvania,” he said. “This virus, whether we like it or not, really likes it when people get close together, for whatever reason. So let’s address those things as best we can and see if we can keep people from congregating and make it a little harder for that virus to infect us.”

Asked specifically about the limit on 250 people outside and district’s opening stadiums, Wolf offered his “non-MD” insight into a decision like that.

“You put 3,000 people together packed in closely. My bet is that the virus is really, really going to like that and that if you’re looking to get people infected, that’s a good way to do it,” the governor said. “If you really have people who have health problems or could really suffer by catching this virus, it might not be something you want to do.”

Attorney General Josh Shapiro is handling the federal case and planned to file Wednesday for a stay, Wolf said. Depending on a decision, the office then would file an appeal.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.