Mar 27, 2020 5 min read

Gov. Tom Wolf expanded his stay-home order to include nine new counties, including Westmoreland, as the death toll continued to rise from coronavirus Friday in Pennsylvania.

The order began at 8 p.m. and will continue through April 6 in Berks, Butler, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Westmoreland and York, Wolf said Friday afternoon.

Pennsylvania saw seven new coronavirus deaths Friday, taking the total number of victims to 22 as a stay-home order remained in place for 10 other counties, including Allegheny and Erie.

The state recorded 531 new positive tests for the virus since Thursday, with the total number of cases reaching 2,218, the state health department said.

“We have seen case counts continue to increase, and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home,” state health department Secretary Rachel Levine said during a livestream briefing Friday afternoon.

Consol announced Friday that one of its employees at Bailey Mine in Greene County contracted COVID-19, and that the worker was in self quarantine. Those at the coal mine who had contact with the miner were asked to self-isolate for 14 days, the Southpointe-based company said.

Washington County added two new cases of COVID-19 since Thursday, taking its total to 14. Greene County added another case, taking its total to four. Westmoreland County saw six new positive cases, increasing its number of them to 30. Fayette County also increased by one new patient, and it now has nine positive cases of the virus. There have been no COVID-19 deaths reported in these counties.

Meanwhile, Allegheny County added 25 new positive coronavirus cases Friday to its count with no new deaths occurring from the disease. The new cases included two residents of a Kane Community Health Center in Glen Hazel. The residents were being quarantined.

The announcement about the Kane patients came two days after the county announced that an employee who did not have direct contact with residents at the health care center had been sickened with COVID-19.

Allegheny’s total cases reached 158 Friday.

The department said it is still tracing the contacts of people who tested positive and is recommending self-quarantine when needed.

“We strongly urge all people in Allegheny County to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus in our community,” the county stated in a news release.

Most of the people who have fallen ill with the virus in Allegheny are between the ages of 25 and 49, making up 42% of the cases. Twenty-five of the total number of patients required hospitalization. There have been two deaths from the disease in that county.

Levine said 241 of those who had the virus statewide required hospitalization since March 6, and that 44 of them required a ventilator. She said 40 percent of the intensive-care beds were available in the state.

“In most areas of Pennsylvania we are seeing community spread,” Levine said.

She said it was difficult to draw conclusions from the fact that some counties recorded fewer new cases of the virus Friday.

“It’s too early to tell,” she said.

People under the state stay-home order may leave their residences only to perform any of the following allowable individual activities and allowable essential travel:

• Tasks essential to maintain health and safety, or the health and safety of their family or household members (including pets), such as obtaining medicine or medical supplies, visiting a health care professional, or obtaining supplies they need to work from home
• Getting necessary services or supplies for themselves, for their family or household members, or as part of volunteer efforts, or to deliver those services or supplies to others to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences
• Engaging in outdoor activity, such as walking, hiking or running if they maintain social distancing
• To perform work providing essential products and services at a life-sustaining business
• To care for a family member or pet in another household
• Any travel related to the provision of or access to the above-mentioned individual activities or life-sustaining business activities
• Travel to care for elderly, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable persons
• Travel to or from educational institutions for purposes of receiving materials for distance learning, for receiving meals, and any other related services
• Travel to return to a place of residence from an outside jurisdiction
• Travel required by law enforcement or court order
• Travel required for non-residents to return to their place of residence outside of Pennsylvania
• Anyone performing life-sustaining travel does not need paperwork to prove the reason for trave
• (Source: Gov. Tom Wolf’s office)