As Butler County continues to see a plateau in the number of new COVID-19 cases, state officials are asking for plasma.

No new COVID-19 cases were added Wednesday to the county's total, according to state data.

However, the Pennsylvania Department of Health's report Wednesday added Sunday's reported death to the county's death toll, which now stands at 13. Prior to that, the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Butler County had remained unchanged for four weeks.

In a news conference that same day, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine urged anyone who had COVID-19 to consider donating plasma. The donation, she explained, could not only help save people struggling with the virus, but could also save potential future victims if an expected resurgence in the fall and winter occurs.

“Because you have recovered, your plasma now contains COVID-19 antibodies,” Levine said. “These antibodies helped your immune system recover when you were sick with COVID-19. Those antibodies can help someone now who is battling the virus as we speak.”

Levine said other forms of routine medical donations are also “urgently” needed.

“Blood platelet and plasma donations are still urgently needed to treat people with other serious medical conditions,” Levine said.

Blood banks across the state have been conducting blood and plasma donation opportunities throughout the pandemic.

Levine said the American Red Cross specifically has been testing all donated blood for COVID-19 antibodies as a precaution.

Gov. Tom Wolf joined Levine during Wednesday's news conference touting the state's success in seeing a continued decline in new cases of COVID-19.

“Our new case rate has fallen consistently, even as we've resumed activities, even as we've gone back to work,” Wolf said.

According to data analyses, including those by Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and The New York Times, Pennsylvania's steady decline in cases since April put the state among a select few that continue a flattening of the curve as they reopened.

“We recognize this is not an either-or-situation. We shouldn't have to and we don't have to choose between our health and our economy,” Wolf said. “There's a middle ground that allows us to open businesses while cutting down on the spread of COVID-19.”

Wolf also applauded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which on Wednesday granted the governor's request for that court to take over a lawsuit by legislative Republicans that could end his pandemic shutdown order by enforcing a resolution that both chambers passed last week to end the state of disaster emergency declared by Wolf in March.

The case had been filed in the Commonwealth Court, where Republicans hold a majority of the seats, but Democrats have a 5-2 edge on the Supreme Court.

The order said justices will decide the case based on filings that have been made in both courts, and they will “address the merits of the petitioner's application in due course.”

Wolf and his administration have been named as defendants in a number of lawsuits, including one by a Butler County contingency; another by an Allegheny County contingency; and one by Republican legislators calling for the governor's impeachment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from the regular news releases from the state Department of Health.Wednesday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 232Negative tests: 4,888Deaths: 13Butler Memorial hospitalInpatients: 1Suspected: 1Confirmed: 0ICU: 0Total tests: 6,605Outdoor tests: 3,098Positive tests: 244Clarion hospitalInpatients: 1Suspected: 1Confirmed: 0ICU: 1Total tests: 1,317Outdoor tests: 893Positive tests: 38PennsylvaniaNew cases: 335Total cases: 79,818New deaths: 43Total deaths: 6,319Recovered: 75 percentSurrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,979 confirmed cases; 43,480 negative; and 177 deathsArmstrong: 68 confirmed; 1,635 negative; and 5 deathsBeaver: 596 confirmed; 5,038 negative; and 77 deathsClarion: 31 confirmed; 808 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 80 confirmed; 1,978 negative; and 8 deathsMercer: 104 confirmed; 2,343 negative; and 6 deathsVenango: 14 confirmed and 853 negativeWestmoreland: 483 confirmed; 13,202 negative; and 38 deaths.