Mar 23, 2020 2 min read

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday issued an order for people to stay home in seven Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny, where there is evidence of the community spread of coronavirus.

The order that will begin at 8 p.m. today also was an effort to save lives and prevent health-care systems from becoming overburdened by patients with COVID-19. Six people have died statewide from the virus, including one person in Allegheny County.

“If we want to saves lives, we must distance ourselves,” Wolf said.

“This virus is sneaky,” he said about the illness where cases continued to more than double every two days in Pennsylvania.

The latest order also involves Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Wolf said he was not ordering a curfew in those areas, and that people can still leave home for life-sustaining purposes that include visits to grocery stores, pharmacies and gasoline stations.

Pennsylvania recorded 165 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, taking the statewide total to 644, with the virus being located in 34 counties, the state Health Department said. The state announced 108 new cases Sunday.

“Our notable increase in cases over the last few days indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

Washington County saw no new increases in the illness, but Allegheny has had one COVID-19 death and 48 positive cases, the state tracking map indicates.

Westmoreland County stood at six cases Monday, while Fayette County had one. Levine said 6,595 people who have been tested in the state saw negative results for COVID-19.

Levine said health professionals were learning new symptoms of the disease beyond shortness breath, dry cough and fever to now include diarrhea.

Wolf said the state hasn’t seen a disruption like this since the Civil War.

“We are living in a time like no other,” he said Monday during a 2 p.m. livestream briefing on the virus.

He said 80% of those who become sick with the virus will be fine.

“We can’t treat the 20%. We don’t have the capacity,” Wolf said.

Levine said there are 3,400 intensive-care beds in the state and that 40% of them were available Monday.

People who are employed at life-sustaining workplaces will still be permitted to leave their homes, unless they are symptomatic. Going outside to walk is still permitted as long as people stay six feet apart from each other.