The state COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force on Friday announced three initiatives aimed at getting more people vaccinated against COVID-19.

Gov. Tom Wolf said the task force is calling for all people in group 1A to have appointments for vaccinations by the end of the month, establishing regional vaccination clinics and dedicated weekly allocations of vaccine for frontline workers, including police, career and volunteer firefighters, correctional officers, grocery and meat processing employees and agriculture employees.

In addition, Wolf said he will try to meet President Joe Biden's call to make all adults eligible for vaccinations by May 1.

Group IA in the state's phased vaccination plan includes people age 65 and older, people age 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and health care workers.

Out of the 3.4 million vaccinations administered in the state, nearly 1 million have been given to people age 65 and older, Wolf said.

Also Friday, state health officials encouraged all long-term care facilities to implement updated nursing home visitation guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The guidance acknowledges that there is no substitute for physical contact between residents and loved ones by allowing fully vaccinated residents to choose whether to have close contact while wearing face masks. Regardless, visitors should physically distance from other residents and staff in the facility.

The guidance also states that facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident or visitor.

Visits to long-term care facilities would be limited if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10% and if less than 70% of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated, residents have confirmed cases of the virus or the resident is in quarantine.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 3,074 new cases Friday, bringing the statewide total to 961,456 since the beginning of the pandemic. The county had 33 new cases, raising the total to 9,145.

The 40 new deaths across the state raises the total to 24,530 deaths. No new deaths were added to the county's total of 375.

Vaccinations administered in the county include 21,831 first doses and 24,067 second doses. A person is considered fully covered after receiving two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health System.COVID-19 statistics from Friday are:<b>Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 9,145Probable cases: 5,196Negative tests: 47161Deaths: 375<b>Butler Memorial Hospital</b>Inpatients: 9Suspected: 1Confirmed: 8ICU: 2Total tests: 41,289Outdoor tests: 16,755Positive tests: 2,791<b>Clarion Hospital</b>Inpatients: 2Suspected: 1Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 12,241Outdoor tests: 10,369Positive tests: 1,948<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 3,074Total cases: 961,456New deaths: 40Total deaths: 24,530Recovered: 92 percent<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 61,883 confirmed cases; 367,387 negative; and 1,767 deathsArmstrong: 3,918 confirmed; 15,085 negative; and 116 deathsBeaver: 10,553 confirmed; 46,197 negative; and 352 deathsClarion: 1,748 confirmed; 8,140 negative; and 86 deathsLawrence: 4,675 confirmed; 18,459 negative; and 189 deathsMercer: 6,603 confirmed; 27,406 negative; and 243 deathsVenango: 2,770 confirmed; 10,670 negative; and 89 deathsWestmoreland: 19,312 confirmed; 88,488 negative; and 688 deaths