Alexandra Glavach, 20, of Slippery Rock runs around the Old Thompson Field track in August.

This is a breaking news report. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article in Sunday's Butler Eagle.COVID-19 cases are on the rise at Slippery Rock University, but President William Behre trusts his students will make the right choices.“A subset of our students have made decisions I wish they wouldn’t have made,” Behre said. “I encourage our students be sensible about this.”SRU has a cumulative case total of 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Aug. 20, with 21 of those cases being confirmed between Aug. 27 and Wednesday.Behre said he has often heard the argument that because the death rate is low in young people, there is no reason to fear COVID-19.“Why take that risk at this point?” Behre said. “Young people can suffer damages from this disease, short of death. There’s a lot of bad things that can occur before death, and permanent problems that can occur.”SRU is one of five schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to reach double digits in confirmed cases.While SRU has isolation procedures in place for students who test positive, the spread of the virus on campus could affect the county’s data as well, according to Maggi Mumma, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

After seeing slight decreases for two weeks, Butler County had an uptick this week in new confirmed cases.According to Friday’s report by the Department of Health, Butler County added five new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 759 county residents have tested positive and 19 people have died.Butler County added a combined total of 46 new confirmed cases spanning from Aug. 29 to Friday’s update. From Aug. 22 to Aug. 28, the county saw only 21 new confirmed cases.The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health System.Friday's COVID-19 statistics:<b>Butler County</b>Confirmed cases: 759Probable cases: 74Negative tests: 18,611Deaths: 19<b>Butler Memorial Hospital</b>Inpatients: 4Suspected: 1Confirmed: 3ICU: 1Total tests: 17,744Outdoor tests: 6,244Positive tests: 310<b>Clarion Hospital</b>Inpatients: 1Suspected: 0Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 4,827Outdoor tests: 3,818Positive tests: 97<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 1,160Total cases: 136,771New deaths: 10Total deaths: 7,732Recovered: 82 percent<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 10,290 confirmed cases; 151,621 negative; and 324 deathsArmstrong: 340 confirmed; 5,563 negative; and 10 deathsBeaver: 1,647 confirmed; 17,182 negative; and 99 deathsClarion: 90 confirmed; 2,741 negative; and 3 deathsLawrence: 408 confirmed; 6,818 negative; and 19 deathsMercer: 492 confirmed; 10,136 negative; and 13 deathsVenango: 56 confirmed; 4,156 negative; and 1 deathWestmoreland: 1,797 confirmed; 38,115 negative; and 49 deaths<i>This is a breaking news report. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article in Sunday's Butler Eagle.</i>