Pennsylvania sees rise in newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania is seeing an uptick in the number of confirmed new cases of COVID-19, more than three months after the pandemic first began to spread in the state.
The Health Department said Thursday there were 579 new positive cases and 39 deaths. The state's caseload had been steadily falling, but more recently it has plateaued and now appears to be inching upward.
The agency said nearly 84,000 Pennsylvanians have been confirmed to have the disease. There have been 6,557 deaths.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
The news comes as eight counties in southeastern Pennsylvania prepare to move into the green phase of reopening on Friday. The counties in our area that will move into the least restrictive phase of the three-tiered plan include Philadelphia, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton.
While Philadelphia will move green ahead of Mayor Kenny's July 3 target date, Governor Tom Wolf says Philadelphia residents and businesses will still follow the plan laid out Thursday by city officials.
Erie, Lackawanna, and Susquehanna will also move into the green phase on the 26th.
Sixty-six of the state sixty-seven counties will soon enter the green phase. The only county left in the yellow zone is Lebanon County in central Pennsylvania. In a release, the Wolf administration blamed Republican county officials for voting to open about a month ago.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.