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BHS reports COVID death, contradicts state

7 new cases since Friday

One local death Sunday contradicted Monday's state report of zero deaths in Pennsylvania due to the coronavirus.

According to the state Department of Health's report Monday, the state reported no deaths due to COVID-19, but Butler Health System reported Monday that one person died at Butler Memorial Hospital from the virus.

BHS reported the death alongside its number of patients hospitalized due to the virus.

Butler Memorial is treating three patients — two have confirmed cases, and one patient has a suspected case of the virus. Two of Butler's patients are being treated in the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, Clarion Hospital has zero inpatients.

According to the state report, Butler County added seven confirmed COVID-19 cases since Friday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 556 since the pandemic began. The report listed the county's death toll at 15.

The death at Butler Memorial Hospital may be attributed later to the county's toll due to a lag in reporting, or it could be attributed to another county if the person was not a county resident.

While its validity became questionable, Sunday's zero new deaths is the first time since March that the state did not report daily fatalities due to COVID-19.

Also on Monday, the Department of Health announced Cranberry Township's Walmart Supercenter Pharmacy would be one of nine to add drive-thru testing beginning Wednesday.

“When we established our testing strategy, we wanted testing to be accessible, available and adaptable, and we are working to meet that challenge,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in a news release.

The Cranberry site will be able to test up to 50 registered patients, which will only take place in the drive-through setting and not be done inside the store. Registration is required one day in advance.

At the Cranberry location, testing will take place from 7 to 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

After testing, residents are required to return home and self-isolate, and if their symptoms worsen, they are advised to call their doctor.

The tests will be sent to Quest Diagnostics for processing. The diagnostic company has a lab in Pittsburgh, which like many across the country, has experienced heavy traffic.

The average turnaround time for patients to receive their test results is seven or more days.

In a news conference Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf spoke alongside state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and Col. Scott Price, deputy commissioner of operations for the state police, to reiterate the state's ability to enforce its COVID-19 mitigation orders.

“These orders do give us the ability to cite folks who aren't taking this precaution,” Wolf said. “If that's what it's going to take to keep Pennsylvania safe, then that's what we'll do.”

While the news conference was largely about enforcement, speakers called for residents and businesses to comply with state orders.

“Our goal is to achieve voluntary compliance through mutual respect of one another,” Price said.

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