Gov. Wolf warns of new COVID-19 recommendations to slow its spread
Gov. Tom Wolf warned Monday that he would call for new COVID-19 mitigation recommendations soon as the spread of the virus was leading to dire conditions in hospitals.
Wolf said he would take urgent action in the coming days to address the virus, which could overrun hospitals and affect emergency services for everyone.
“Doctors and nurses are frightened right now,” Wolf said. “Please stay home, do not attending gatherings and please wear a mask. We have a problem.”
The virus has killed 11,373 Pennsylvanians since March after 111 new deaths were announced over the past two days. There was one new virus death announced Monday in Washington County, while no new victims of the disease were reported in Fayette or Greene counties.
The number of COVID-19 cases has doubled in Pennsylvania within the past six weeks, and the recovery rate from the disease has dropped to 58%, state Health Secretary Rachel Levine said.
Meanwhile, several hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania were expected to experience staffing shortages this week because of the pandemic.
Washington County added 82 new virus cases Monday to its cumulative total of 5,546. Greene County’s case count grew by five to 919. Fayette County reported 76 new cases to its total that climbed to 3,039.