Butler County is nowhere near the worst in some COVID-19-related metrics, but it's not the best either.

Released Wednesday, the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living partnered with Johns Hopkins University to enumerate and compare seven-day positivity rates and personal protective equipment statuses among the 50 states.

“We all have a duty to defend our nation's greatest generation and their essential caregivers,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL.

The report showed the general population of Pennsylvania had a 5.9 percent seven-day positive COVID-19 testing percentage. The figure places the state in a tie for the 23rd lowest, seven-day positivity rate.

According to the report, Arizona had the highest rate at 22.7 percent, and Vermont had the lowest with .07 percent.

On July 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it would require, rather than recommend, that all nursing homes in states with a 5 percent positivity rate or greater test all nursing home staff each week.

In recent months, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine instituted universal testing procedures. The testing of every staff member and resident in every long-term care facility statewide was completed last week.

In a response for comment Wednesday, Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesman Nate Wardle said the state's own early-warning monitoring dashboard, found on the department's website, shows a positivity rate of 4.6 percent.

He said the Department of Health has not been advised about the CMS requirement and continues moving forward with its universal testing, which will retest facilities based on that facility's experience with the virus.

“The department continues to work to follow the requirements by CMS as we work to protect the health and well-being of residents in nursing homes,” Wardle said.

According to Wednesday's report by the Department of Health, the state added 705 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 115,714 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Butler County added eight confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday, according to state reports.

The county has had a total of 565 confirmed cases and 15 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Wednesday AHCA/NCAL report also compared states and their need for PPE. The metric asked if nursing homes had a one-week supply of specified PPE. The report said of the 695 nursing homes in the state, 12 percent lacked N-95 masks, 9 percent lacked surgical masks and 11 percent lacked gowns.

“The continued shortage of vital PPE supplies for nursing homes across the U.S. is a major concern, especially for states with recent spikes in new COVID cases,” Parkinson said.

As of Wednesday's state report, Butler County has had 14 long-term care facilities report cases of COVID-19, which has included 24 residents and 17 employees who contracted the virus. Three people have died due to COVID-19 infiltrating long-term care facilities.