As state officials consider easing coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Butler Health System gets closer to resuming elective procedures as local leaders cope with the county's regional designation that puts it further out from reopening.

Also, the county saw two additional positive cases and no deaths reported through Monday, according to the state Department of Health.

Ken DeFurio, BHS CEO and president, said the county appears to have plateaued in incoming cases.

“We seem to be hovering around five or six positive cases at a time,” he said.

That flattening could mean good news for BHS's effort to restart elective procedures, but the county's close proximity to neighboring counties with higher incident rates of the virus could mean waiting a little longer to officially reopen.

[naviga:h3]BHS looks to reopen services[/naviga:h3]

Elective procedures help keep health care systems stable financially, and BHS received additional guidance Monday afternoon from the state on resuming these services. The new guidelines emphasize capabilities of health systems to handle a surge of COVID-19 cases, while simultaneously performing elective services.

“We know that many Pennsylvanians have had to delay important elective procedures and operations, but it was necessary to ensure that our health care system had enough capacity in case it became overwhelmed with patients with COVID-19,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

DeFurio said the hospital's steering committee, made up of doctors from a range of specialties, could come to a decision on a date to reopen as early as Wednesday. He said while a decision has not been made yet, there is optimism that elective procedures could start in the next two weeks.

DeFurio said committee members will need to look at prioritizing elective procedures based on severity and will look closely at testing procedures.

The state's guidance asks for testing of patients before they have procedures.

BHS's in-house testing returns results in a few hours, but has been limited to severe COVID-19 cases because it has a limited supply of testing materials.

“We'd really like to test everyone in-house, but the industry isn't there yet,” he said.

This means people having elective procedures will be tested at the outdoor tent, which sees results, right now, in about one to two days.

DeFurio said there is concern that other hospitals also will be sending tests for elective patients, which could clutter the labs and delay results.

“Testing is not as widely available as some would lead you to believe,” DeFurio said.

[naviga:h3]Officials look to economic reopening[/naviga:h3]

As BHS nears a return of elective services, officials are trying to get a clearer picture of what the county's economic reopening will look like.

Gov. Tom Wolf released a map dividing the state into six regions with Butler County included in the southwest portion of the state. Last week, Wolf reported that the northeast and north-central parts of the state likely would be the first to be released from the stay-at-home orders.

Butler County's northern boundary represents the line between the southwest and northwest regions.

County Commissioner Kevin Boozel said local officials are spearheading an effort calling for regional collaboration and discussion.

“It's not a state decision. It's not a county decision. It's a collective decision,” Boozel said.

Multiple counties have formally requested the state to move them from one region to another.

Levine addressed multiple questions regarding the regionalized map at Monday's news conference, including Cambria County's request to move out of the southwestern region.

“We'd be pleased to consider their request as we're considering all of the requests,” Levine said. “Many things will be under investigation this week as we determine which areas, which counties and regions can go from red to yellow.”

Boozel said the move to another region was floated as an option in his conversations with state officials.

“We (the commissioners) did discuss it. It's a moot point,” Boozel said. “I don't know that that really favors us in any way.”

According to 2010 Census estimates, Butler County has a population of more than 187,000 people. The Department of Health reports 170 positive cases and six deaths among county residents. That means 0.09 percent of the county's residents have contracted COVID-19.

However, Levine did point out the state's data reflects only people who have been tested, explaining how there were some who were not tested but who had the virus. According to Levine, there is an unknown percentage of the county's population who had the virus but don't appear in the state's data.

While less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the county has been infected by the coronavirus, the majority of its businesses have been closed by Wolf's orders.

Jordan Grady, executive director of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the county will see some accommodations when it reopens. He said it's possible the county could be split to some degree between north and south.

“We have a very unique county. The more north you go, the more rural it gets. When you go south, we have a more diverse population,” Grady said.

[naviga:h3]Businesses want to get back to work[/naviga:h3]

Grady said business owners want to get back to work, and a collective of organizations has banded together to keep them informed.

The Butler County Growth Collaborative involves eight organizations partnering to bring businesses and residents a condensed report of information on pandemic procedures and resources.

The site can be found through Butler County's website at https://www.butlercountypa.gov. Just click on the Butler County COVID-19 Resources button at the top of the page.

“The goal of this partnership is to reduce information overload,” Grady said. “There are a lot of parties working together here to achieve one common goal.”

On Monday, Levine said the regional map and designations were created to give people an idea of the areas the state's decisions would impact, but they will not be strict, sweeping decisions.

“We're not going to be specifically held to the regions on the map,” she said. “We're going to be making some informed choices about regions and the counties.”

The following data about the coronavirus pandemic are compiled daily from the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website and regular releases from Butler Health System.Monday’s COVID-19 statistics are as follows:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 170Negative tests: 2,041Deaths: 6PennsylvaniaNew cases: 885Total cases: 42,050New deaths: 47Total deaths: 1,597Negative tests: 161,372Butler Memorial HospitalInpatients: 10Suspected: 4Confirmed: 6ICU: 1Total tests: 2,499Outdoor tests: 1,826Positive tests: 201Clarion HospitalInpatients: 2Suspected: 0Confirmed: 2ICU: 1Total tests: 553Outdoor tests: 451Positive tests: 21Surrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,224 confirmed cases, 14,765 negative test results, and 79 deathsWestmoreland: 377 confirmed, 4,188 negative, and 19 deathsBeaver: 387 confirmed, 1,898 negative, and 46 deathsLawrence: 63 confirmed, 667 negative, and 5 deathsMercer: confirmed, negative, and deathArmstrong: 47 confirmed, 606 negative, and 2 deathsClarion: 22 confirmed, 464 negative, and 1 deathVenango: 7 confirmed and 231 negative*The total cases includes confirmed and probable cases.*The total deaths and new deaths include only confirmed deaths, which is a person who tested positive for the virus before their death.