Coronavirus Pennsylvania: COVID-19 Cases In Philadelphia Climb Above 9,000 As Statewide Total Tops 31,000; Death Toll Nears 1,000
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- The number of coronavirus cases in Philadelphia jumped above 9,000 on Saturday, city officials announced. Statewide, Pennsylvania climbed above 31,000 as the death toll nears 1,000.
In Philadelphia, officials announced 451 new cases, bringing the citywide total to 9,014. The death toll rose to 343 as 45 more people died from the virus.
State health officials reported 1,628 new cases on Saturday, bringing the statewide total to 31,069 and the death toll now stands at 964. Nearly 500 of the deaths have occurred in residents in nursing homes or personal care facilities.
"COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Pennsylvania, and even though the daily increases are not exponential, now is not the time to become complacent," Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. "We must continue to stay home to protect ourselves, our families, our community. If you must go out, please make as few trips as possible and wear a mask to protect not only yourself but other people as well. We need all Pennsylvanians to continue to heed these efforts to protect our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our health care workers, and frontline responders."
Nearly 123,000 patients have tested negative for the virus.
In Montgomery County, an additional 201 coronavirus cases were reported. There are now 2,623 cases countywide including 147 deaths.
"Today's large number of positive test results, which include the first results from the re-opened community-based testing site on April 16, demonstrate the importance of testing to understand the spread of the virus in our community and the continued need to stay at home except for essential work and essential errands," Montgomery County Board of Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said. "I'm also saddened to confirm that 12 more Montgomery County residents have lost their lives to COVID-19."
Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf said during a press conference on Friday that Pennsylvania will gradually reopen its economy using a "regional, sector-based approach" and a modeling tool that will help public officials decide when it's safe.
The six-stage plan did not include a timetable or spell out the metrics that Wolf and his administration will use to decide that Pennsylvania can begin emerging from the coronavirus pandemic after weeks of social distancing.
"Unfortunately, we cannot flip a switch and reopen the commonwealth. There isn't going to be one big day, we need to make smart, data-driven decisions," Wolf said.
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Wolf called Friday's release a "framework" and said he would lay out more concrete steps next week. The state needs to be careful and deliberate in reopening the economy, the governor said, with the flexibility to respond to new outbreaks. Doing otherwise, he contended, would prolong the crisis.
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