Butler County saw a small increase in its COVID-19 numbers Tuesday, the same day state officials touted a new mobile testing unit.

Butler County added three new confirmed cases in Tuesday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Butler County's total stands at 688, which represents the number of Butler County residents who have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. The county's COVID-19 death toll remains at 17.

On Tuesday, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine hosted a news conference regarding the Community-Accessible Testing and Education unit, also known as CATE.

The mobile testing unit made its first stop this week in Littlestown, Adams County, with the purpose of providing testing and education for underserved communities across the state.

“This partnership is a step in the right direction to breaking down those barriers to our vision to the Pennsylvania Department of Health of a healthy Pennsylvania for all,” Levine said.

The unit was created through a partnership with Highmark Blue Shield, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation and the Latino Connection, a Pennsylvania-based multicultural marketing agency.

The effort cost about $500,000 with about $331,000 coming from grant funding by the Department of Health.

According to Levine, the specimens collected will be processed by the state Bureau of Laboratories in Exeter after each event with turnaround times ranging from 24 to 48 hours.

George Hernandez, founder and CEO of the Latino Connection, said Pennsylvania has a trend of nonwhite communities being disproportionately affected by the virus. He said change is needed to win the fight against COVID-19.

“Quite literally, we need a COVID-19 movement with wheels,” he said. “This is just the beginning. I urge everyone to take advantage of this incredible community resource.”

CATE will visit some of the state's hottest COVID-19 spots first in the southeastern and southcentral parts of the state. In all, the unit's 30 stops will reach Western Pennsylvania, where there are planned stops in Erie and Allegheny counties.

In addition to testing and information, the unit has been stocked with masks and hand sanitizer donated by Highmark Blue Shield to be passed out to those in need.

“It's really about moving forward with life while applying physical social distancing and truly getting resources, like a mask, into the hands of those low-income, vulnerable communities,” Hernandez said.