Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine provided updates Wednesday on skilled nursing facilities.

Levine and Gov. Tom Wolf visited Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Wednesday to thank staff and update the public on the state's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in preparation for a possible resurgence in the fall.

Levine, who is still on the staff at the medical center, announced the state would now partner with CVS Health to meet the demands of testing in skilled nursing facilities.

“This partnership strengthens and increases access to insure that universal testing of these facilities is completed as required,” she said.

Earlier in June, Levine ordered all skilled nursing facilities in the state to put together plans to test all residents and staff with a deadline of July 24 for implementation.

“The testing is critical,” Levine said. “It is the asymptomatic or presymptomatic staff that have unknowingly brought the disease into the facility.”

The same facilities have been ordered by Levine not to admit visitors, but on Wednesday she said these restrictions may see changes soon.

“Guidance will be put out later (this) week,” Levine said. “I'm hoping by Friday, but it could drift to Monday.”

The Department of Health regulates all nursing home facilities, while the Department of Human Services regulates all personal care facilities. In the past, the Department of Human Services has echoed guidance from the Department of Health.

“As we allow visitors, we want to do that in the most safe way, so we don't risk bringing in asymptomatic individuals into those facilities,” Levine said.

In addition to the announcements, Wolf also applauded Pennsylvania for continuing to see a decline in new cases of COVID-19, especially as other states have seen surges.

“We have been consistently on a downward track, and that has continued,” Wolf said. “I think that's because we've had good policy guidance from the Department of Health.”

According to the Department of Health's report Wednesday, Butler County had 245 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 probable cases of the virus that have not received test results. The numbers correlate to four new cases in Butler County since Tuesday and seven new cases since Monday. The county's death toll remained at 13.

Wolf said part of the reason for the visit to the medical center was to discuss the upcoming fall season with medical experts. He also announced the state is up to about 16,000 daily tests completed for the virus and close to 600 trained contact tracers being available.

“Right now, we're in the eye of this pandemic,” “Right now, we're doing everything we can to prepare for that.”

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from the regular news releases from the state Department of Health and Butler Health System.Wednesday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 245Probable cases: 32Negative tests: 5,605Deaths: 13Butler Memorial hospitalInpatients: 2Suspected: 1Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 7,767Outdoor tests: 3,365Positive tests: 252Clarion hospitalInpatients: 1Suspected: 0Confirmed: 1ICU: 0Total tests: 1,448Outdoor tests: 971Positive tests: 39PennsylvaniaNew cases: 495Total cases: 83,191New deaths: 54Total deaths: 6,515Recovered: 77 percentSurrounding CountiesAllegheny: 2,146 confirmed cases; 48,319 negative; and 180 deathsArmstrong: 70 confirmed; 1,905 negative; and 6 deathsBeaver: 634 confirmed; 5,465 negative; and 78 deathsClarion: 33 confirmed; 884 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 83 confirmed; 2,300 negative; and 9 deathsMercer: 107 confirmed; 2,893 negative; and 6 deathsVenango: 14 confirmed and 1,022 negativeWestmoreland: 544 confirmed; 15,083 negative; and 38 deaths.