As neighboring Beaver County headed into the green phase Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced eight more counties that will begin the reopening process June 19 — including Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Perry, Pike and Schuylkill.

As of this weekend, all 67 counties are in either the yellow or green phases of the governor’s reopening plan — with 46 presently in green and 21 in yellow.

Pennsylvania continues to see a steady decline in cases as more counties reopen, according to a press release issued by the governor’s office.

“In Pennsylvania, not only did we flatten the curve, but we are continuing to keep case counts down even as we open our commonwealth,” Wolf said. “We will continue to take a measured, phased approach to reopening that relies on science and health experts.”

According to analysis by the New York Times, new COVID-19 cases are declining in less than half of all U.S. states and territories.

As regions or counties move into the yellow phase, some restrictions on work and social interaction will ease while others, such as closures of schools, gyms, and other indoor recreation centers, hair and nail salons, as well as limitations around large gatherings, remain in place.

As the governor’s office gave the green-light to more counties, the state Department of Health confirmed an additional 686 positive cases of COVID-19 and 49 new deaths attributed to the virus, bringing statewide totals to 77,999 and 6,162 respectively.

Locally, Butler County added just one new confirmed case of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the county’s total to 229. The county’s death count remains at 12.

“With more than half of the state now in the green phase of the process to reopen, it is essential that we continue to take precautions to protect against COVID-19,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, state secretary of health. “The commonwealth’s careful, measured approach to reopening is working as we see case counts continue to decline even as many other states see increases.”

Levine went on to stress that the virus is still active, and encouraged residents to continue to protect themselves, their loved ones and others by wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and washing hands frequently.

The secretary’s sentiments were echoed by Butler Health System, which added that residents should not touch their faces, and should cover coughs and sneezes as well as maintain a minimum distance of six feet from others. Moreover, the regional health care system urges people to still stay home if they feel sick.

Since its last report on Wednesday, BHS has updated its totals to 6,043 tests conducted at its outdoor site at Butler Memorial Hospital, and 1,227 at the outdoor test site at Clarion Hospital.