The number of coronavirus cases across Pennsylvania surged nearly 20% to 5,805 Wednesday, with Gov. Tom Wolf issuing a dire warning that the state’s death toll could run into the thousands if people ignore stay-at-home orders.
Wolf, using his most blunt language to date on the coronavirus crisis, said, “There are some people you will never see again” unless residents heed orders to mitigate the virus spread.
Wolf said the virus had reached every corner of the state, and he extended his order for residents to stay at home, except for necessary trips, to all 67 counties across the commonwealth.
The state’s total shot up by 962 new cases Wednesday, and there are now 686 cases in the Lehigh Valley, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Lehigh and Northampton counties combined saw a one-day increase in cases of more than 32%, following a one-day increase of about 24% Tuesday.
By Wednesday evening, the virus had infected more than 932,000 people worldwide and caused nearly 47,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University website. The death toll in the U.S. surpassed 4,700, according to news reports.
Both Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine implored residents to obey the stay-at-home order, which lasts until April 30. The order and other measures, like an order that closed non-life-sustaining businesses, are meant to slow the rate of increase of infections and lessen the chance hospitals will be overwhelmed.
Wolf also has closed the state’s public schools indefinitely.
Levine said it was too early to tell if the effort to “flatten the curve” in Pennsylvania and prevent a system-overwhelming spike in hospitalizations has worked.
In Monroe County, which some lawmakers believe is the state’s hot spot for infections, another 42 cases were added Wednesday to bring the overall total to 278.
Statewide, 11 deaths were reported by the Health Department on Wednesday, increasing the virus’ toll in Pennsylvania overall to 74. That figure includes eight deaths in Monroe.
One of the newly reported deaths was in Lehigh County, bringing the Lehigh Valley total to 10.
In Allentown, which has its own Health Bureau, the number of city residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 jumped to 207 on Wednesday, up 30% from Tuesday’s total of 159 and nearly 225% from Sunday’s total of 64. The previous Wednesday, the city had just 18 residents who had tested positive.
State Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Northampton County Democrat, said the newly reported case numbers in the Lehigh Valley were large but not unexpected.
“We knew that this week and next week were probably going to be peak weeks where we see more cases,” Boscola said. “It is all about the mitigation at this point. There are still some people, unfortunately, who don’t believe in this.”
The counties with the largest case totals through Wednesday were Philadelphia, 1,478; Montgomery, 649; Delaware, 390; Lehigh, 374; Allegheny, 356; Bucks, 312; Northampton, 312; Luzerne, 282; Monroe, 278; and Chester, 183.
In addition to the 5,805 positive-test cases statewide, there have been 42,427 patients who have tested negative.
The latest age breakdown from the state for those who have tested positive for the virus shows nearly 40% are ages 25 to 49; nearly 29% are ages 50 to 64; 19% are ages 65 or older; nearly 9% are 19 to 24; and 1% are ages 13 to 18.
The Morning Call reported Wednesday that some workers in high-density warehouses in the Lehigh Valley feel they are being made to work closely in ways that risk virus spread. In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Wolf said that being designated a life-sustaining business “does not mean, ‘business as usual.'”
Other developments in the coronavirus crisis Wednesday:
Wolf said the state’s unemployment compensation system has been “overwhelmed” by about a million filings since March 15, and the state is doing everything it can to turn around claims as quickly as possible.
Short-term rentals like Airbnb have been shut down following complaints from lawmakers in Monroe and nearby counties, Wolf said. “There is nothing essential” about a short-term rental in the Poconos, he said.
State police are focusing on enforcing the state order concerning closure of non-life-sustaining businesses, rather than the order that residents stay at home, according to Wolf. He said of the latter, that he thinks people will comply voluntarily because they “know it is the right thing to do.”
Levine said 286 of the coronavirus cases are in health care workers. And, she said, about 200 of the confirmed cases are in a total of 92 different nursing homes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at 717-783-7305 or fturner@mcall.com.
