Butler County adds 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in two days, and the state's COVID Alert phone application sees expanded functionality in other states.

According to Friday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Butler County added 24 confirmed cases since Wednesday's report.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 994 county residents have tested positive for the virus. The county's death toll remained at 25.

After reporting zero inpatient cases Wednesday at Butler Memorial Hospital, Butler Health System reported four new hospitalizations, three patients suspected of having the virus and one who has tested positive. So far none of the patients are being treated in the intensive care unit.

Also Friday, the Karns City School District announced a student at the high school tested positive for COVID-19. The school district was notified Friday that the student tested positive for the virus.

The student was last in the building Sept. 24, according to a district announcement Friday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health will take the appropriate steps to begin contact tracing to inform anyone who may have been in close contact. Facility cleaning has been ongoing and will continue, school officials said.

In a news release Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf said fellow northeastern states of New Jersey, New York and Delaware now have their version of the COVID Alert phone application, and the app will work between states.

The COVID Alert PA app launched late last month. It uses Bluetooth technology to anonymously alert the user when a person in their proximity has been exposed to COVID-19 and in turn has exposed them to the virus.

“States throughout the region have been working together to combat this pandemic, and this is one more tool for our interstate cooperation,” Wolf said. “Pennsylvanians stand united with our neighbors in adding our phones to the fight to stop COVID-19.”

Created by the Pennsylvania Department of Health along with other partners, the app is free and voluntary.

Health officials have said that the more people who use the application, the more effective it will be.

Since its release, 180,000 Pennsylvanians have downloaded the app. Pennsylvania has an estimated population of about 12.8 million residents.

“The governor is grateful to everyone who has already downloaded the app, but continues to encourage every Pennsylvanian 18-and-older to download and make their phones part of the fight against COVID-19,” said Lyndsay Kensinger, a spokeswoman for the governor's office

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 Thursday and Friday are:<b>Butler County</b>Confirmed cases: 994Probable cases: 107Negative tests: 22,509Deaths: 25<b>Butler Memorial Hospital</b>Inpatients: 4Suspected: 3Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 19,946Outdoor tests: 7,121Positive tests: 332<b>Clarion Hospital</b>Inpatients: 1Suspected: 0Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 5,659Outdoor tests: 4,464Positive tests: 122<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 2,317Total cases: 161,284New deaths: 37Total deaths: 8,179Recovered: 82 percent<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 11,961 confirmed cases; 175,745 negative; and 362 deathsArmstrong: 441 confirmed; 7,110 negative; and 18 deathsBeaver: 1,898 confirmed; 20,266 negative; and 125 deathsClarion: 106 confirmed; 3,327 negative; and 3 deathsLawrence: 478 confirmed; 7,835 negative; and 23 deathsMercer: 678 confirmed; 12,101 negative; and 20 deathsVenango: 74 confirmed; 4,829 negative; and 1 deathWestmoreland: 2,205 confirmed; 43,459 negative; and 56 deaths