Health care facilities in Butler County continue to see some COVID-19 cases, but no caseloads have reached double digits.

VA Butler Healthcare has two active COVID-19 cases, neither of which are inpatients, according to VA Butler spokeswoman Paula McCarl.

The VA Butler Healthcare has seen 13 cases throughout the pandemic, but all of them have been outpatients who were seen at the North Duffy Road facility, not those living in the Community Living Center on New Castle Road.

“The Butler VA has utilized its resources appropriately and has partnered with other VAs and civilian facilities to care for veterans during this pandemic,” McCarl said.

According to McCarl, those who died were residents of community care facilities, but they were not residents at the VA's community care facility.

“They were in community settings when they passed, and none were residents in VA Butler Healthcare facilities,” she said.

McCarl said the veterans health care provider updates the Veterans Integrated Service Network incident command center daily. The local VA's data is then presented on the U.S. Veterans Affairs website for the public to see. McCarl said the VA's figures are also reported to the Department of Health and incorporated into its data.

Butler Health System also has seen COVID-19 inpatient cases remain in the single digits between both hospitals in its network.

As of Monday, staff at Butler Memorial Hospital is treating three patients, and Clarion Hospital does not have any inpatients.

During Monday's virtual daily coronavirus briefing, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the pandemics' effects in long-term care facilities statewide has improved.

Last updated May 26, the Department of Health reported that six long-term care facilities in Butler County had cases of COVID-19 in either their staff or residents. Five of the six facilities had fewer than five cases. In these facilities the exact number of cases is unknown because the case count was redacted by the Department of Health to protect the privacy of those infected.

Levine said the Department of Health is still moving forward with plans to test every staff member and resident in long-term care facilities.

She said the frequency of these waves of testing would be dictated by the circumstances surrounding the facility.

“We are starting to see a significant decline in new cases in staff and residents in long-term care facilities, as well as a decline in deaths, but the threat to these facilities is not over,” Levine said.

Levine said the Department of Health is planning to continue these types of testing plans until a vaccine is produced, at which time that amount of testing would likely not be necessary.

“It will be a significant ongoing effort,” Levine said.

As Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week another wave of reopening the state's economy, which included Butler County moving to the green phase on Friday, he also announced his signature on legislation that advanced the state's budget for next year and an additional allocation of $2.6 billion in federal funding provided by the CARES Act.

This funding included more than $700 million in funding for nursing homes, long-term care facilities and senior programs.

Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging Robert Torres joined Levine for Monday's update. He said his department has done its part to provide regular services to older Pennsylvanians in new ways.

Torres said his department will be working to begin reopening senior centers and other physical locations, but will continue offering alternative modes of its services to protect seniors. He said everyone should be keeping this part of the population in mind as they begin to leave their homes and return to work.

“As the governor's stay-at-home orders are lifted, we all must continue to practice safety measures in place to protect ourselves, our families and our most vulnerable citizens,” Torres said.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from the regular news releases from the Butler Health System and the state Department of Health. Data was also gathered from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.Monday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 230Negative tests: 3,771Deaths: 12Butler VATotal cases: 13Active cases: 2Convalescent cases: 8Deaths: 3Butler Memorial HospitalInpatients: 3Suspected: 1Confirmed: 2ICU: 1Total tests: 4,958Outdoor tests: 2,635Positive tests: 240Clarion HospitalInpatients: 0Suspected: 0Confirmed: 0ICU: 0Total tests: 1,017Outdoor tests: 726Positive tests: 32PennsylvaniaNew cases: 356Total cases: 72,282New deaths: 12Total deaths: 5,567Negative tests: 389,431Recovered: 67 percentSurrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,919 confirmed cases; 30,871 negative; and 164 deathsArmstrong: 62 confirmed; 1,264 negative; and 4 deathsBeaver: 590 confirmed; 3,838 negative; and 73 deathsClarion: 27 confirmed; 680 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 80 confirmed; 1,377 negative; and 8 deathsMercer: 107 confirmed; 1,656 negative; and 5 deathsVenango: 8 confirmed and 565 negativeWestmoreland: 449 confirmed; 9,723 negative; and 38 deaths