Because two cases of novel coronavirus 2019 were confirmed in Allegheny County Friday, Butler Health System is restricting visitation at Butler Memorial Hospital starting Saturday.

Two adult patients with confirmed novel coronavirus 2019 were evaluated in the emergency department of Allegheny Health Network's West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh Friday and subsequently discharged home for quarantine. Both patients were tested for the virus through their independent primary care physician. West Penn had advance notice of the patients' impending arrival to the hospital, and all precautions were taken to effectively prevent exposure of the virus to the hospital's caregivers and support staff.

No additional details will be provided about the patients in question.

Butler Memorial Hospital will continue to operate normally, including inpatient and outpatient services, but visitors will not be allowed at the hospital with certain exceptions such as surgery and maternity cases. Those visitors will be stopped at the hospital entrance and screened for COVID-19 symptoms.

The visitor restrictions were to go into effect Monday, but the Butler Memorial Hospital decided to enact the rules Saturday with the confirmation of the two Allegheny County CORVID-19 cases.