Apr 10, 2020 By The 3 min read

Two COVID-19 deaths in Fayette County were among the 78 additional deaths reported by the state Department of Health on Saturday.

The state’s total number of deaths rose to 494, and the number of positive increased by 1,676 to 21,664.

There have been three COVID-19 deaths in Fayette, with the first reported on April 1.

The county’s total number of cases rose by one to 50.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the number of new cases isn’t exponentially increasing as it was in March, suggesting mitigation and social distancing efforts are helping to “bend the curve.”

“The goal is that as we reach the ‘surge’ that’s been talked about (is) that there will be a wave of new cases that will come up and go down, but it won’t be a tidal wave that would completely overwhelm our health care system,” she said.

Levine said the surge would likely hit the western part of the state later than the eastern part.

There were 218 cases reported in Westmoreland County, up from 202, and the DOH recorded five additional deaths, making six total deaths in the county.

Greene County’s count rose to 23 and Washington County’s numbers remained at 66 cases.

There have been no COVID-19 deaths reported in Greene or Washington.

Allegheny County’s case count rose by 48 to 836, and a 19th death was reported there.

While some counties, like Greene, only have a handful of positive cases, on Friday Levine said the state knows that the data is “underreported” in the same way flu cases often are.

“We know that the true caseload of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania is much higher, and so even though only a few people have tested positive in rural counties, we expect that there are more cases,” she said.

Those rural counties, however, are less likely to experience mass transmission in the way that Allegheny or Philadelphia counties may, because the population density is lower, Levine noted.

On Saturday, Levine acknowledged many will be unable to celebrate Easter with family, but said doing so reinforces “that the only way through this is with each other.”

“While these are challenging and uncertain times, I am certain of one thing: we will get through this because of each other, and we will be stronger for it,” she said.

In other statewide news related to COVID-19, Gov. Tom Wolf, on Friday, announced a $450 million low interest loan package to help financially struggling hospitals.

Wolf said medical facilities have been shifting resources and buying equipment in preparation for a surge of COVID-19 patients. Simultaneously, he said, hospitals have stopped performing elective surgeries or other non-urgent care, which has resulted in a hit to revenue.

“We cannot allow any of our hospitals to become bankrupt. When this pandemic finally ends, we’re going to need our hospitals to care for our regular medical needs, like heart attacks and broken bones,” Wolf said.

Also on Friday, Wolf directed the state Department of Corrections to establish a program to release 1,500 to 1,800 inmates from prison.

The program targets inmates who are vulnerable to COVID-19 and inmates who are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.

Inmates at high risk for complications because of underlying health issues or who are 65 or older will be considered for the program if they are within 12 months of their release date.

Nonviolent inmates will be considered if they are within nine months of their release date.

Eleven cases have been identified at a Montgomery County state prison. Two employees at SCI-Fayette have tested positive for the virus.