Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday imposing statewide mitigations to combat the spread of COVID-19, further affecting bars, restaurants and gatherings.

“If we do nothing, we are going to overwhelm our health care system,” Wolf said. “That's why we have to act right now.”

Wolf's order reduces indoor capacity of restaurants to 25 percent, down from 50 percent. Rules regarding outdoor dining remain the same. The order also prohibits businesses from operating if their sole purpose is serving alcohol, such as nightclubs. The order continues to allow carry-out cocktails and beverage sales.

“Telework must be implemented whenever possible,” Wolf said in a news conference Wednesday.

Also, according to the order, indoor gatherings will be limited to 25 people, while outdoor gatherings will continue at a maximum of 250 people.

“I want people to spend time together, but I want them to do so while practicing social distancing, while they're wearing masks when required,” Wolf said.

[naviga:h3]Addressing a threat[/naviga:h3]

“By acting now and making these specific and targeted mitigation efforts statewide, we can get ahead of the curve,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

Levine said the reason mitigation efforts were targeted at these businesses and areas was due to information gathered through contact tracing efforts.

When someone tests positive for COVID-19, the state Department of Health deploys a contact tracing specialist to track the person's whereabouts and people with whom they may have come into contact during a two-week period. Two weeks is believed the longest period of time for the virus's incubation period. Three to five days is the average incubation period for the virus.

“I think the threat is statewide, and that is why this is a statewide effort,” Levine said.

Also during the news conference, Dr. David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, gave further insight into Pennsylvania's recent rise in COVID-19 cases. He said the resurgence of the virus appeared to climb up from southern states.

“It is very clear that the disease resurgence is moving quickly into the Northeast region and into the Upper Midwest,” he said.

Although not limited to Southwestern Pennsylvania, Rubin used the area as an example, noting Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and its surrounding counties experienced significant increases in new COVID-19 cases.

“Prior to the resurgence in the Pittsburgh area, we have seen multiple cities now in the state of Ohio, including Cleveland and including Columbus, Ohio, with significant resurgence that continues to climb,” Rubin said. “They have widespread community transmission, which is washing over our western border of Pennsylvania in waves.”

[naviga:h3]County cases[/naviga:h3]

Butler County saw a subtraction of one confirmed case from its total, bringing a slight reprieve from its own spike in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks.

The county's total now drops to 403 confirmed cases with 41 cases listed as probable that are waiting for testing results.

Nate Wardle, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the subtraction of cases happens occasionally.

“As we conduct case investigations, we work to determine the county of residence for an individual who tested positive,” he said. “Sometimes, the county of residence is not the same as what was reported on the lab submission form, and that means that the data changes.”

Despite the recent increases, Butler Health System has not seen a spike in hospitalized patients from COVID-19. Butler Memorial Hospital is treating three inpatients with only one having a confirmed case of the virus. The other two patients are awaiting test results. Clarion Hospital, also in the BHS network, is treating one inpatient with a confirmed case.

However, BHS officials warned of increasing wait times on the results of testing done through its drive-through facility, which sends its tests to Quest Diagnostics in California. In-hospital testing takes place on a limited basis due to limited supplies of materials, but the results can come within one to two days, officials said.

Levine said Wednesday the trend of lag times in tests is concerning, but she did not blame the poor turnaround on the national laboratories.

“They are doing a fantastic job, but they are overwhelmed now,” Levine said. “The lag time for those national test sites have crept up to one week to 10 days.”

Wolf said 10 days is too long to wait for test results, but the state, much like the rest of the country and the world, are at the mercy of scientific advances in medicine. He said, ideally, he and medical experts want to see an oral, easy-to-use test that gives rapid results.

“We're not there yet,” Wolf said. “There's no place in the country that's there yet.”

[naviga:h3]National tracking[/naviga:h3]

Nationally, COVID-19 tracking has also made a shift.

The Trump administration has shifted COVID-19 data collection protocols at the federal level, but local health officials say it should not impact day-to-day collection on their end. “For us, nothing changes,” said BHS spokeswoman Jana Panther.

According to a document by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the guidance issued to hospitals nationwide was updated July 10.

The shift no longer includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in data collection of COVID-19 cases for federal use, instead directing hospitals to only submit the information to HHS.

“As of July 15, 2020, hospitals should no longer report the COVID-19 information in this document to the National Healthcare Safety Network site,” the document said.

The National Healthcare Safety Network is the “nation's most widely used health care-associated infection tracking system, according to the website of CDC, which uses and oversees the system.

In a statement Tuesday, Michael Caputo, HHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said the change will make its own system faster and complete. “The CDC's old data gathering operation once worked well monitoring hospital information across the country, but it's an inadequate system today,” Caputo said.

Panther said BHS has reported to HHS and the state Department of Health since the beginning of the pandemic, and it will continue to do so as directed.

The document also states that collection by state departments will continue as directed by state government.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health System.Tuesday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 403Probable cases: 41Negative tests:8,928Deaths: 13Butler Memorial hospitalInpatients: 3Suspected: 2Confirmed: 1ICU: 1Total tests: 11,494Outdoor tests: 4,477Positive tests: 276Clarion hospitalInpatients: 1Suspected: 0Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 2,290Outdoor tests: 1,643Positive tests: 63PennsylvaniaNew cases: 994Total cases: 97,665New deaths: 26Total deaths: 6,957Recovered: 76 percentSurrounding CountiesAllegheny: 5,417 confirmed cases; 81,645 negative; and 201 deathsArmstrong: 94 confirmed; 2,880 negative; and 6 deathsBeaver: 858 confirmed; 8,369 negative; and 79 deathsClarion: 64 confirmed; 1,451 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 181 confirmed; 3,791 negative; and 9 deathsMercer: 178 confirmed; 5,848 negative; and 6 deathsVenango: 33 confirmed and 2,037 negativeWestmoreland: 1,025 confirmed; 23,112 negative; and 39 deaths.