No new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported among local counties on Wednesday.
McKean County remains at 12 positives, while Potter County has four positive cases, Elk County has six and Cameron County has two.
Statewide, there were 780 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday, bringing the state total to 69,417. Also, 113 deaths were reported on Wednesday, bringing the statewide death total attributable to COVID-19 to 5,265.
“The total number of cases will continue to increase, but new (daily) positive cases continue to decline,” state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said. “This is good news for Pennsylvania, especially as we have added more testing.”
Levine noted that it’s estimated that about 62% of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state have recovered.
The DOH is also continuing to monitor Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a COVID-19 related illness being found in the state. Thus far, 13 confirmed cases of MIS-C in children ages 11 months to 18 years have been found in the state, with 10 other cases under investigation.
Levine also reminded residents of counties entering the green phase on Friday — including McKean, Cameron, Elk and Potter — to continue practicing hygiene and social distancing as much as possible.
Also on Wednesday, Governor Tom Wolf released additional guidelines for the counties entering the green phase this week.
Among them are:
— Personal care services such as hair salons and barber shops must operate by appointment only, and appointments and reservations are strongly encouraged at gyms or spas
— Any gathering for a planned or spontaneous event of greater than 250 individuals is prohibited. Places of congregate worship such as churches, synagogues and mosques are not included in this, but are encouraged to enforce social distancing and other mitigation measures at gatherings.
— Visitation to prisons and hospitals may resume subject to the discretion of the facility, but nursing home visitation restrictions will initially remain in place.
— Organized sports are permissible, with distancing still strongly encouraged.
Life after the green phase is still unclear, though.
“For all of us, there’s a new normal,” Wolf said. “And at this point we can’t tell.”
