The county added 19 cases over two days as Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine on Wednesday discussed the new term “long-haulers,” her short-term expectations for flu season and long-term expectations for a possible vaccine.

National and international research is being conducted on “long-haulers,” who are people who survived COVID-19 but who are experiencing long-term impacts from their bout.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Americans who are COVID-19 long-haulers,” Levine said. “This is new information, and we're learning as we go along.”

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Butler County has 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the past two days with six Tuesday and 13 Wednesday.A total of 970 county residents have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. The county's death toll remains at 25.Meanwhile Butler Memorial Hospital has zero COVID-19 inpatients, a decrease of one from Butler Health System's update Monday.Clarion Hospital has two patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, one of whom is suspected of having the virus and the other with a confirmed case. Clarion is treating one of its inpatients in the Intensive Care Unit.BHS is encouraging its patients and the people in the community to get their annual flu shots.

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health System.COVID-19 statistics from Tuesday and Wednesday are:<b>Butler County</b>Confirmed cases: 970Probable cases: 104Negative tests: 22,102Deaths: 25<b>Butler Memorial Hospital</b>Inpatients: 0Suspected: 0Confirmed: 0ICU: 0Total tests: 19,689Outdoor tests: 7,035Positive tests: 332<b>Clarion Hospital</b>Inpatients: 2Suspected: 1Confirmed: 1ICU: 1Total tests: 5,602Outdoor tests: 4,413Positive tests: 117<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 2,141Total cases: 158,967New deaths: 35Total deaths: 8,142Recovered: 82 percent<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 11,792 confirmed cases; 173,601 negative; and 361 deathsArmstrong: 435 confirmed; 6,970 negative; and 18 deathsBeaver: 1,870 confirmed; 20,014 negative; and 122 deathsClarion: 104 confirmed; 3,284 negative; and 3 deathsLawrence: 462 confirmed; 7,691 negative; and 23 deathsMercer: 666 confirmed; 11,886 negative; and 20 deathsVenango: 70 confirmed; 4,798 negative; and 1 deathWestmoreland: 2,134 confirmed; 42,899 negative; and 56 deaths.