Jul 7, 2020 2 min read

The number of new COVID-19 cases began to surge again Tuesday in Pennsylvania, especially in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the state Health Department said.

There were 995 new cases of the virus Tuesday, and 33 new deaths from the disease. The case-count statewide climbed to 91,299, according to the website.

Washington County’s numbers also climbed by 21 Tuesday, taking its total to 339, while Greene County saw three new cases with a total now of 50.

The novel coronavirus has killed 6,754 Pennsylvanians since late March, state data shows.

Meanwhile, Allegheny County registered 204 new cases and six new deaths from the virus.

State Health Secretary Rachel Levine said her department is seeing significant increases in COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19- to- 24-year-olds.

Nearly 30% of the new cases this month in Southwestern Pennsylvania involve that age group as compared to 5% in April, Levine said.

In an alert to health care providers Saturday, the department said the increase in cases is attributed to travel and social gatherings or social settings, including bars, restaurants, and parties.

Gov. Tom Wolf joined state and federal officials Tuesday in reminding people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus.

“As we increasingly resume public activities in our commonwealth, we need to remain vigilant about taking precautions, especially wearing a mask that covers our noses and mouths while around other people,” Wolf said. “This is an easy, yet important action that has been shown by research to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

The mask-wearing order was expected to remain in place until there is a COVID-19 vaccine, said Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department.

Bogen said she will update her order today that closed casinos and banned on-site alcohol sales in the county. She declined to give the specifics on how that order will change, other than to say she was looking at swimming pool restrictions and event limits.

She said 347 of the new cases had attended community events and mass gatherings.

Allegheny County has added more new cases of the virus in the past two weeks than it did in the past two months, Bogen said.

She said she is concerned because the percentage of positive test results has increased from about 3% to between 8 and 10%.