Pa. coronavirus cases top 1,000

By staff and wire reports
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania crested 1,000 Wednesday, health officials said, and four more patients have died.
From Tuesday to Wednesday, 276 new cases were identified, according to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. The cases now total 1,127.
She noted 11 deaths in the state, up from seven reported deaths Tuesday. Northampton County is up to three deaths and Lackawanna is up to two. Philadelphia and Luzerne counties recorded their first deaths.
Forty-four of the state’s 67 counties have at least one case of COVID-19.
Around Western Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County cases increased to 16, and cases in Butler County doubled to 12. Cases in Beaver County jumped from three to seven. In Fayette, the cases increased from two to four. Greene County reported its first two cases Tuesday night, and Somerset reported its second case. Lawrence County recorded its first case.
Across the state, 11,193 people have tested negative for the virus. Levine said the number of tests pending is not available.
Ten counties are now under Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order. The latest, added Wednesday morning, are Northampton and Lehigh. Already under the order were Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery, Philadelphia and Erie, which was added Tuesday night.
Wolf’s office said the order will take effect at 8 p.m. for the two counties, home to more than 670,000 people.
In a video news conference Wednesday, Wolf urged residents to “step up”and do their part to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and said everyone “must all act as if we have it” to avoid spreading it further.
While Wolf acknowledged that business owners have borne a huge brunt of the shutdowns, Wolf also declined to offer any sort of projection for when he thought the state could start getting back to normal.
“We’re going to recover from this crisis, but first we must get through it,” Wolf said.
Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the administration expects a surge of patients in the coming weeks. Cases are doubling every two to three days, and the administration is putting a heavy emphasis on buying time to help get the state’s health care system ready for that growing flood of patients, Levine said.
Before Wednesday, Wolf’s orders covered eight counties, including Philadelphia, Allegheny County and Philadelphia’s four heavily populated suburban counties. The 10 counties account for half of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 million residents and are home to nearly 80% of the state’s confirmed coronavirus cases, as of Wednesday.
The order requires residents to stay home, except for certain allowable travel or errands for health or safety purposes or going to a job designated as part of a life-sustaining employment sector.
Also Wednesday, the state Department of Health said it had confirmed 276 more cases of coronavirus — an increase of one-third — and four more deaths for a total of 11 statewide.
Meanwhile, the state House of Representatives and Senate, with many members voting remotely under new chamber rules, passed legislation to delay the primary election by five weeks to June 2, a bill that Wolf has said he will sign.
They also took votes on other elements of a package of coronavirus-related legislation, including marshaling $50 million in aid to help hospitals, nursing homes and emergency response teams afford masks, gloves and other personal protective gear.
A look at other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania:
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