Pennsylvania’s top state health official described the declining numbers of new COVID-19 cases in the state as “very good news” Tuesday, after new tallies showed the second straight day of lower case counts.
Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of the Department of Health, told reporters during the state’s daily coronavirus news briefing that while there have been some regional fluctuations, Pennsylvania is seeing an overall downward trend in new infections. Monday’s announcement of 473 new cases was the smallest number of new cases in more than two months, and Tuesday’s count showed 451 new infections.
“This is especially encouraging, considering that we have increased our testing capabilities,” Levine said.
Virus testing has increased from 50,000 in the last week of April to nearly 80,000 last week, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday. And a new contact tracing program — in which infected people are swiftly isolated and people they came into contact with are quarantined — has ramped up as well, he said.
But Levine and Wolf cautioned that the coronavirus is still spreading, and emphasized that continuing to shrink those numbers will require everyone to continue taking safety precautions.
While children have suffered fewer infections with generally milder symptoms compared with adults, Levine said there have been 17 reports of possible cases of a rare but serious inflammatory response seen in a small number of children after an initial coronavirus infection. Of those potential reports, nine have been confirmed, six are under investigation, and two were determined not to be the inflammatory response, she said.
Symptoms of the recently identified syndrome — which has similar symptoms to Kawasaki disease, another rare inflammatory condition — include a high, persistent fever, a rash or change in skin color, swollen lymph nodes, red eyes and abdominal pain.
Levine said there’s still “rather limited” information about how the syndrome is transmitted and specific risk factors, and encouraged parents to contact their pediatrician if they notice any symptoms.
As the state continues to slowly reopen, Wolf said additional guidance will be released this week for what can and cannot be done in the green phase. Eighteen counties, mostly in northwest and north-central Pennsylvania, have been cleared to go green on Friday.
Very large gatherings will not be recommended in the green phase, Levine said, mentioning concerts as a specific example, and adding that residents should still plan to practice social distancing and wear masks as much as they can.
Wolf said his administration is working with the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association as it establishes guidelines for bars and restaurants, including directions that they operate at 50% capacity. Asked about how those capacity limits will be enforced, Wolf called on businesses to do what they can to limit risks to customers and employees.
“Ultimately, what’s going to work is not enforcement,” Wolf said. “What’s going to work is each and every individual Pennsylvanian, each and every business owner, doing everything they can to protect their employees and their customers and protect each other from this disease.”
The number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to 68,637 Tuesday, with 13 new deaths.
In the Lehigh Valley, there were 22 new cases in Lehigh and Northampton counties, with one additional death in Lehigh and none in Northampton, though state data lags behind county reports. Lehigh County reported 221 COVID-19 deaths while Northampton County reported 226, according to the latest figures available from both counties.
The data shows 61% of people who contracted COVID-19 have recovered.
In long-term care centers, including nursing homes, there are 14,857 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,505 cases among employees at 594 distinct facilities. Out of the 5,152 deaths in the state, about 66% have occurred in nursing or personal care facilities.
Eight more counties will move from the red to yellow phase Friday: Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Schuylkill. All remaining red phase counties ? including Northampton and Lehigh ? will move to the yellow phase June 5.
A key metric the state has been using to determine when counties can reopen is for an area to have a coronavirus positive-test case rate of 50 per 100,000 residents or fewer over a stretch of 14 days. The 14-day rate for Lehigh and Northampton counties is 97 and 136, respectively.
The following 18 counties will be moving from the yellow to the green phase Friday: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren.
Morning Call reporter Jennifer Sheehan and The Associated Press contributed to this article. Washington correspondent Laura Olson can be reached at 202-780-9540 or lolson@mcall.com.
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