State officials Thursday tried to clarify recent decisions regarding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, including the barring of Pittsburgh Pirates' opponents from coming to town.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Wednesday it would prevent the Toronto Major League Baseball club from playing in Pittsburgh.

“We took action in terms of the Toronto Blue Jays because it's more people coming to particularly Pittsburgh and Allegheny County where we've had increases,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in a news conference Thursday. “And we did not want to take that risk.”

According to the Department of Health's report Thursday, Allegheny County added 147 confirmed cases overnight.

Butler County added six confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to Thursday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The county now has a total of 474 confirmed cases throughout the pandemic with its death toll remaining at 14.

Levine also used the news conference to update the public on the coronavirus pandemic and reaffirm the need for last week's executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf that imposed further restrictions on restaurants, bars and indoor gatherings.

“Every region in the state has counties that have seen a seven-day average rate of cases increase for COVID-19. That is why the statewide mitigation efforts taken last week are so important,” she said.

Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered further mitigation efforts, including reduction of restaurant capacity, closure of bars to in-person service and restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Members of the media and outraged business owners have asked for the Wolf administration to release numbers to justify the decision.

Levine said they based the decision on information gathered by contact tracers, who investigate the whereabouts of infected people. She said restaurants and bars were particular areas of congregation that needed to be addressed to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

Levine said there could possibly be a statewide report detailing the number of cases attributed to restaurant and bar visitors.

“We'll be glad to look at it and consider it,” she said.

State legislators also have shown concern over the latest orders. The House Majority Policy Committee scheduled a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the House Majority Caucus Room.

Leaders of the hospitality industry as well as the governor's administration, have been invited to testify, according to a news release Thursday.

“While we continue to act on ways to help people during this time, the House Republican Caucus is also beginning the process of examining how Pennsylvania can recover economically, while still mitigating the effects of COVID-19,” said House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-171st. “This hearing is a critical first step in that direction.”

Levine also commented on whether the recent restrictions on indoor gatherings will affect whether students will be able to return to school. The restrictions specifically limit indoor gatherings to 25 people.

In the past few weeks, many schools throughout the county have been working on or updating their return-to-school plans.

Levine said the mitigation efforts put in place last week were meant to address the resurgence of COVID-19 and curb the numbers for students to safely return to school on time.

“We're going to stay positive and optimistic that there will be in-person school when school opens in August,” she said. “That's why the mitigation efforts that we talked about are so important.”

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health System.

Thursday’s COVID-19 statistics:

<b>Butler County</b>Confirmed cases: 474Probable cases: 45Negative tests: 10,445Deaths: 14<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 962Total cases: 104,358New deaths: 16Total deaths: 7,079Recovered: 75 percent<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 6,611 confirmed cases; 93,943 negative; and 214 deathsArmstrong: 134 confirmed; 3,260 negative; and 6 deathsBeaver: 1,022 confirmed; 9,765 negative; and 82 deathsClarion: 68 confirmed; 1,614 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 228 confirmed; 4,217 negative; and 9 deathsMercer: 247 confirmed; 6,486 negative; and 9 deathsVenango: 37 confirmed and 2,417 negativeWestmoreland: 1,200 confirmed; 25,901 negative; and 41 deaths.