A sixth Butler County patient death is being reported as part of a statewide spike in deaths announced Tuesday in the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a daily report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Butler County also saw one more COVID-19 case confirmed along with the death.

The county's sixth death was one of 360 statewide deaths reported Tuesday.

“It is important to note that this increase did not happen overnight,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. “The difference today is that we've added 'probable deaths' in addition to confirmed deaths.”

Levine said recent spikes are the result of the department consolidating data from various reporting sources and adding new specifications, like “probable deaths.” She said including probable deaths is important as epidemiologists continue studying COVID-19.

“This is not unusual, this is the way that infectious disease deaths are usually reported, but we don't usually spend as much time delving into it,” Levine said. “It just has taken time, given the scope of COVID-19, to get to this point.”

In the state's data, confirmed cases represent individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. A 'probable cause' case indicates someone has symptoms, as well as had close contact with someone who tested positive.

According to Levine, a confirmed death is a person who tested positive for COVID-19 before they died.

“Probable deaths are those (people) who have died and their death certificate lists COVID-19, but they did not have a positive test,” Levine said.

Coroner dataButler County Coroner William Young III said there probably have been more than six COVID-19 deaths in the county. He said data is likely off, but that wouldn't affect his work.Young said he and other coroners are struggling to acquire testing materials that specifically test a person who has died to confirm whether or not they actually had the virus.“I don't put COVID-19 on a death certificate unless it's proven,” he said. “I don't think anyone else will do it unless it's proven.”Levine also stressed that the spikes attributed to data consolidation will not weigh too heavily on the state's decision to reopen the economy because it is understood these deaths and cases may have been from as early as the beginning of the outbreak.“We are basing decisions on the best way to protect public health,” she said. “Not on a single-day increase or change but on trends over time.”

Testing before surgeriesThe state may also see another fluctuation of data as UPMC will begin testing patients who come in for “specific” procedures, such as surgeries — even if they're asymptomatic.At a virtual Tuesday news conference, Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC's chairman of the department of emergency medicine, said this helps health care workers and patients.“This is how we assure safety, and we learn more about the disease,” Yealy said. “Not only the prevalence, but what the next best steps are.”Tami Minnier, chief quality officer at UPMC, added that information will answer otherwise unanswered questions about the disease.“The most important question, the question that everyone has, is what about the asymptomatic person? Who around us has COVID-19 and we don't even know it? They might not even know it,” she said.UPMC further provided an update on its background testing, which tests people showing up to hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms. According to Yealy, roughly 6.6 percent of tests come back with a positive result. That's a good sign, he said, as that number was around 12 percent when they began testing.Because the tests are taken without identifying data, they do not diagnose individual patients and are not added to state numbers.Additionally, UPMC will roll out an antibody test, which will detect whether somebody has had the disease in the past, even if they haven't been ill. Minnier said this not only allows patients to know whether they had COVID-19, but also gives options for potential future treatments.“This is particularly helpful right now. (It's) invaluable — allowing us to identify potential donors for our convalescent plasma program,” she said.Convalescent plasma is the blood plasma of somebody who has the antibodies that fight — and allow the immune system to identify — SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus at the helm of the COVID-19 pandemic. That plasma is being investigated as a way to treat or prevent COVID-19, but has not been approved by the Food an Drug Administration.

Preparing a planWith the state pointing to the data as the indicator for when to reopen, some health systems, including UPMC and Butler Health System, are looking at when they can safely resume elective procedures.Butler Health System announced Tuesday it appointed members to a steering committee to help evaluate and guide BHS back into elective procedures and surgeries.“Staff and patient safety are the highest priority as resuming elective procedures and surgeries is considered,” said BHS spokeswoman Jana Panther.The committee, which will meet for the first time Thursday afternoon, will be responsible for selecting a date and the procedure for starting elective services.“The date will be guided by the needs of BHS patients, federal and state guidelines, and to the extent they are available, evidence-based position papers on the subject,” Panther said.

The following data about the coronavirus pandemic is compiled daily through the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website and through regular releases from Butler Health System.Tuesday’s COVID-19 statistics are as follows:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 162Negative tests: 1,840Deaths: 6PennsylvaniaNew cases: 1,296Total cases: 34,528New deaths: 360Total deaths: 1,564Negative tests: 132,323Butler Memorial HospitalInpatients: 6Suspected: 2Confirmed: 4ICU: 1Total tests: 2,283Outdoor tests: 1,692Positive tests: 180Clarion HospitalInpatients: 3Suspected: 2Confirmed: 1ICU: 1Total tests: 494Outdoor tests: 413Positive tests: 17Surrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,059 confirmed cases, 11,611 negative test results, and 67 deathsWestmoreland: 291 confirmed, 3,529 negative, and 20 deathsBeaver: 303 confirmed, 1,628 negative, and 43 deathsLawrence: 60 confirmed, 537 negative, and 6 deathsMercer: 59 confirmed, 519 negative, and 1 deathArmstrong: 38 confirmed, 474 negative, and 2 deathsClarion: 18 confirmed, 382 negative, and 1 deathVenango: 6 confirmed and 190 negative