County adds 21 cases; test positivity rate drops
Butler County has added 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday's state report.
The county added four confirmed cases on Saturday, 14 on Sunday and three on Monday, according to data released daily by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 907 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19. The county's death toll remained at 22 through the three-day period.
Butler Health System reported a decrease of inpatients at Butler Memorial Hospital and an increase in hospitalized patients at Clarion Hospital since Friday.
In Monday's report by BHS, Butler Memorial had only one inpatient with a confirmed case of COVID-19, a decrease of four since Friday. As of noon Monday, the patient was not being treated in the intensive care unit.
Clarion Hospital now has two inpatients, an increase of one. One of the hospital's patients has a confirmed case while the other is suspected of having the virus.
On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine published their weekly news release with updates from their COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
“Our percent positivity decreased significantly this week, showing that we continue to offer COVID-19 testing across the state to everyone who needs it,” said Wolf in the news release. “At the same time, the incidence rate increased, showing that the virus continues to affect Pennsylvanians.”
The statewide percent positivity rate from Sept. 11 to Sept. 17 was 3.8%, a decrease from 4.2% the week before. Meanwhile, the new case totals have increased by about 526 more than the week before.
Butler County has seen a decrease in both of these values over the past two weeks.
The county had 46 confirmed cases in the Sept. 11 to Sept. 17 time period, which is 34 less than the week before, and the county's percent positivity was listed as 3.3% for the week, a decrease of 2.8%.
“We must continue to focus on taking actions to protect ourselves and others,” Wolf said. “Together, Pennsylvanians can be united to work to prevent the spread of the virus.”
