Coronavirus updates: Centre County on the map; Mount Nittany confirms 2 positive cases
Centre County has joined the growing list of counties in Pennsylvania with a case of the new coronavirus, the state Health Department announced Friday.
News of Centre County’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 came less than two hours before Mount Nittany Health announced two patients who were tested for the new coronavirus within its health system tested positive.
Both individuals are at home in isolation, spokeswoman Anissa Ilie said.
“Our team of expert health care providers, staff and multidisciplinary Preparedness and Response Team have been carefully preparing for this and expecting this day to come,” Mount Nittany Health Chief Medical Officer Nirmal Joshi said in a statement. “As always, the safety of our patients, staff and community remains our highest priority.”
It’s unclear where the patients reside. The DOH website lists cases of COVID-19 according to the county where the tested individual permanently resides, not where they were tested, Ilie said.
Twenty-six of the state’s 67 counties have a case of the new coronavirus, according to the PA DOH.
As of noon Friday, 2,842 tests have been administered in Pennsylvania, 268 of which resulted in a positive test, according to PA DOH data. Eighty-three new cases were reported Friday.
All patients are either being treated at a hospital or are in isolation at home, the department said.
“Our notable increase in cases over the last few days indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” state Health Secretary Rachel Levine said in a statement. “Pennsylvanians have a very important job right now: stay calm, stay home and stay safe. We have seen case counts continue to increase and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home.”
A majority of confirmed cases have been reported in four heavily populated southeastern counties — Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery, which has the most confirmed cases (59) in the state.
For most people, COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Older adults and those with existing health problems are at a heightened risk for more severe illness.
The pandemic has either limited of halted a plethora of economic industries.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close their physical locations by 8 p.m. Thursday to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The decree affected more than 150 types of businesses. Enforcement is set to begin Saturday.
The mitigation effort was among the most restrictive taken by a U.S. governor and drew criticism from Republican legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, of Bellefonte.
Wolf’s office has since created a waiver process for businesses that believe they should be considered life-sustaining. Waivers can be applied for by emailing RA-dcexemption@pa.gov.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 12:13 PM.