Butler County saw its highest single-day total in confirmed cases of coronavirus Wednesday with 17 new cases of the virus reported.

The news came as state health officials expressed concern about the situation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but made no move to reimpose pandemic restrictions in counties bordering Allegheny County that also are seeing increased spread.

The local figure eclipsed the one-day record of 16 reported April 6. The county's coronavirus totals also climbed Tuesday with 14 new confirmed cases.

Officials from several Southwestern Pennsylvania counties as well as businesses throughout the region waited most of Wednesday for an announcement about the possible reinstatement of some COVID-19 restrictions.

Business owners are bracing for the possibility that state health officials will reimpose pandemic restrictions in an effort to contain the spread.

“It (would be) devastating for us,” said Natili North owner Vince Tavolario, who has operated restaurants in Butler for 52 years. “We just called everyone back to work, and things seemed to be going pretty good.”

The news came after a source familiar with the situation confirmed late Tuesday that an announcement on reimposing the restrictions was expected to be made by Gov. Tom Wolf.

The restrictions were expected to include the closure of bars and restaurants, similar to precautions taken by Allegheny County over the past week as it saw its COVID-19 numbers rise.

To the south, Pittsburgh and the rest of Allegheny County reported a near-record number of new coronavirus infections Wednesday with 230 confirmed cases.

Infections are rising sharply in border counties like Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland, and Pennsylvania's health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, had signaled Tuesday that mitigation measures were on the way, according to local officials who spoke with her. But Levine's spokesperson said nothing was imminent.

Several counties, including Butler and Washington, are challenging the legal authority of Levine's boss, Wolf, a Democrat, to order businesses to close.

“They told us an order was coming today,” Leslie Osche, GOP chairwoman of the Butler County board of commissioners, said Wednesday. “We have no authority to close anything, nor would we, but that would be the expectation; an order will come today of some sort.”

April Hutcheson, a health department spokeswoman, said later Wednesday that Levine would not take action Wednesday. She did not explain the apparent change in plans.

“We are continually monitoring what is happening in Southwest Pennsylvania and are in communication with local officials to keep them up to date as to changes happening in their areas,” she said via email. “Even small case increases are concerning and are being watched very carefully. We are prepared to take action as necessary to protect residents from the spread of COVID-19 and prevent people from getting sick.”

Diana Irey Vaughan, Republican chairwoman of the Washington County board of commissioners, said the county would not move on its own to shut down businesses, even if it had the authority to do so.

“At some point, there has to be personal responsibility,” Vaughan said.

Butler and Washington are among the plaintiffs in a pending federal lawsuit filed in May, that challenged the constitutionality of Wolf's statewide shutdown of businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining.” Wolf has since lifted many restrictions, and courts have consistently rejected challenges to his power to order businesses to close during the pandemic.

The state Department of Health reported 25 new deaths Wednesday from COVID-19, raising the statewide toll to 6,812.

There were 849 additional confirmed virus infections across Pennsylvania, driven in large part by the 230-case increase in Allegheny County and 90 additional confirmed infections in Philadelphia, health officials said. More than 92,000 people have tested positive for the virus or are considered probable virus cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state's confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and Butler Health System, which releases data every other day.Wednesday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 351Probable cases: 39Negative tests: 7,965Deaths: 13PennsylvaniaNew cases: 849Total cases: 92,148New deaths: 25Total deaths: 6,812Recovered: 77 percentButler Memorial hospitalInpatients: 3Suspected: 2Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 10,415Outdoor tests: 3,930Positive tests: 270Clarion hospitalInpatients: 2Suspected: 1Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 1,934Outdoor tests: 1,351Positive tests: 48Surrounding CountiesAllegheny: 4,028 confirmed cases; 67,350 negative; and 190 deathsArmstrong: 79 confirmed; 2,516 negative; and 6 deathsBeaver: 763 confirmed; 7,378 negative; and 79 deathsClarion: 47 confirmed; 1,093 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 120 confirmed; 3,083 negative; and 9 deathsMercer: 138 confirmed; 4,896 negative; and 6 deathsVenango: 20 confirmed; 1,415 negative; and 0 deathsWestmoreland: 869 confirmed; 20,586 negative; and 39 deaths.