Pa. reports another 108 confirmed cases of coronavirus; state total now 479

Another 108 new confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Health announced Sunday.

In all, 479 cases have been confirmed in the state, with 5,443 people having been tested. That means 4,964 people have tested negative.

Two people have died as a result of the virus: one in Allegheny County and another in Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania.

Earlier Sunday, Allegheny County reported nine additional confirmed cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 40.

Health officials have said that they expect numbers to increase as testing continues to ramp up. Worldwide, there are more than 318,000 confirmed cases.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine in an online press briefing Sunday said the state’s testing capacity continues to improve, with tests now available through the Department of Health, local hospitals and private companies. The state is urging hospitals to set up testing sites, as has been done in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

However, residents with mild symptoms should stay home and call their health care providers, rather than going out to get a test, she said. There are no plans to test residents who do not have symptoms of the virus.

“We do not want to test individuals who have no symptoms,” Levine said. “It is not necessary, and those tests are not clinically meaningful to us.”

She warned that all existing tests are to be administered by medical professionals. There are no accurate home tests for coronavirus, despite rumors and advertisements to the contrary.

“Right now there is no approved home test for covid-19,” Levine said. “Please don’t believe everything you see on the internet.”

State officials, which this week ordered all non-essential businesses to close, are considering further measures. They have not decided whether to implement a “shelter in place” or “stay at home” order, such as the one implemented in part of California, Levine said. Such an order would prohibit residents from leaving their homes for all non-essential reasons, though they would still be allowed to buy groceries.

“Discussions are being had with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, with (the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency), with local officials and of course with the governor’s office about the possibilities of stay-at-home or shelter in place,” she said.

She repeatedly urged residents to stay at home wherever possible — and not to arrange playdates for their children.

“As a pediatrician and as a parent I know how hard this is, particularly with small children, but we do not want you to have playdates,” she said.

The Pennsylvania county breakdown is as follows:

Adams: 5

​Allegheny: 40

Beaver: 3

​​Berks: 13

​Bucks: 32

​​Butler: ​1

​​Centre: ​1

​Chester: 23

​​Columbia: ​1

​Cumberland: 11

​​Dauphin: 1

​​Delaware:43

​​Erie: 2

​​Fayette: ​1

​​Franklin: ​1

​​Lackawanna: 6

​​Lancaster: 6

​​Lebanon: ​3

​Lehigh: 19

​Luzerne: 7

​​Mercer: ​1

​Monroe: 31

​Montgomery: 87

​​Montour: ​1

​Northampton: 21

​Philadelphia: 91

​Pike: 3

​​Potter: ​1

​​Schuylkill: ​1

​Washington: 7

​Wayne: 2

​​Westmoreland: 4

​​York: 10​