Butler County reached 700 deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and is up to 704 as of Friday.

Over the past several weeks, mitigation guidelines have been eased across the state by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the department of health, including the halting of mask requirements on school buses.

Additionally, other methods of COVID-19 data collecting have been slowing or stopping, as well. Butler Area School District stopped contact tracing COVID-19 cases, and Butler Health System started issuing COVID-19 patient and test counts once a week instead of two.

Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said Feb. 25 that the state is prepared to move into a new phase of COVID-19. She said mitigation efforts may be eased, but the state department is prepared to go back into more active action should cases begin to multiply around Pennsylvania.

“Moving forward does not mean ignoring COVID-19,” Klinepeter said. “We have the knowledge and tools needed to make smart decisions guided by public health research to keep ourselves and our communities safer. Our strategy includes a continued focus on prevention, while being nimble enough to quickly respond to any changes in the COVID-19 landscape.”