May 9, 2020 2 min read

Pennsylvania has logged a little more than 1,000 additional positive cases of the coronavirus as of noon Saturday, with four new cases reported in Washington County.

There were also 72 additional deaths as a result of COVID-19, bringing the overall fatality number in the commonwealth to 3,688. As of noon Saturday, there were 55,316 positive cases of the coronavirus recorded in Pennsylvania, an increase of 1,078 over the previous day. There have been 124 positive cases in Washington County since March, and 27 in Greene County. Greene did not see an increase in positive cases over the last 24 hours.

Even as Washington, Greene and several other counties look toward the yellow phase of reopening next Friday, Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, reminded the commonwealth’s residents to continue social distancing and mitigation efforts.

“We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our health care workers and our first responders,” Levine said in a news release. “I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”

The release also noted that there had been 11,239 positive cases of the coronavirus among residents of nursing and personal care homes, and 1,605 cases among employees, for a total of 12,844 at 530 distinct facilities in 44 counties. Among Pennsylvania’s total deaths, 2,518 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.

Most of the patients hospitalized in Pennsylvania have been aged 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older, according to the health department.