Three counties bordering Butler County will move into the governor's “green” phase of reopening Friday.

At a media briefing Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that 17 Pennsylvania counties — including neighboring Clarion, Lawrence and Venango counties — will move to the least restrictive mitigation efforts Friday. Butler County will remain in the yellow phase.

“I must emphasize that moving into the green phase will still require precautions to keep our communities and our families safe,” Wolf said. “COVID-19 continues to be a threat to our health and welfare. Unfortunately that won't change until we have a vaccine or a cure.”

Under the green phase, the stay-at-home and business-closure orders are lifted, with restaurants, barbershops and gyms allowed to open at 50 percent capacity. Other businesses permitted to reopen in the yellow phase at half capacity can increase to 75 percent occupancy.

The 17 counties permitted to move to green — Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren — were part of the 24 counties originally permitted to move to yellow.

State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said those 17 counties saw a sustained metrics permitting movement to yellow, “showing they are ready to make this move.”

Wolf cleared up what he saw as a misconception over the state's closure orders with respect to religious services. While many congregations voluntarily canceled their own services, he said, that never was part of Pennsylvania requirements.

“We actually never closed religious organizations,” Wolf said, later adding, “This is one of the areas where, if you are a leader of any religious organization, I think your first mission is to keep your parishioners safe.”

Updated data

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday confirmed an additional 866 positive cases of the coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 66,258.

Jana Panther, spokeswoman for Butler Health System, reported that the county saw another death overnight at Butler Memorial Hospital. The health care system reported the death, but the state's totals released at noon do not reflect the new number.

Statewide, there are 4,984 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 115 new deaths.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Levine said. “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.”

There are 481 patients who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure, which are considered probable cases and not confirmed cases.

There are 312,743 patients who have tested negative to date.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from the regular news releases from the state Department of Health and Butler Health System.Information about COVID-19 cases at the VA Butler Health Care System were gathered from a database hosted on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.Friday's COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 209Negative tests: 3,325Deaths: 12VA ButlerActive cases: 0Positive cases: 8Deaths: 3PennsylvaniaNew cases: 866Total cases: 66,258New deaths: 115Total deaths: 4,984Negative tests: 312,743Butler Memorial HospitalInpatient: 6Suspected: 3Confirmed: 3ICU: 2Total tests: 4,377Outdoor tests: 2,486Positive tests: 236Clarion HospitalInpatients: 3Suspected: 1Confirmed: 2ICU: 0Total tests: 890Outdoor tests: 654Positive tests: 31Surrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,739 confirmed cases; 25,517 negative test results; and 154 deathsArmstrong: 58 confirmed; 1,099 negative; and 2 deathsBeaver: 550 confirmed; 3,122 negative; and 71 deathsClarion: 25 confirmed; 628 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 73 confirmed; 1,115 negative; and 8 deathsMercer: 102 confirmed; 1,303 negative; and 4 deathsVenango: 8 confirmed and 448 negativeWestmoreland: 436 confirmed; 8,001 negative; and 38 deaths.n The total number of cases includes confirmed and probable cases.n The total deaths and new deaths include only confirmed deaths, which is a person who tested positive for the virus before their death.