The state House of Representatives on Thursday passed multiple pieces of legislation aimed at shifting power from Gov. Tom Wolf.

About two months ago, Wolf used his executive power to order residents statewide to stay home and shut down nonessential businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

House Bills 2388 and 2412 and Senate Bill 327, approved by the House on Thursday, will be sent to the governor's desk next week. All three bills have passed the Senate.

“I'm really hoping that the governor reads through these and he signs these bills,” said Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th. “All small businesses are essential businesses to somebody.”

The House bills would open a number of businesses regardless of Wolf's orders in terms of phases.

House Bill 2388 would reopen auto dealerships, hair salons, barbershops, lawn and garden centers, pet groomers, messenger services and manufacturing. The House passed the bill 123 to 79.

“They put my animal grooming bill within it,” Mustello said. “I was proud to support this bill.”

Mustello had a standalone bill that would have deemed pet grooming an essential business, having received complaints from pet owners and groomers about the lack of grooming affecting the health of their animals.

Over the weekend, the Department of Health released guidance for veterinarians that allowed pet grooming in counties in the yellow phase. Mustello said pet grooming should be open for all counties, regardless of its phase.

House Bill 2412 would reopen the Real Estate industry, including inspection and appraisal services. The bill passed 134 to 68.

Senate Bill 327 would give county governments the option to develop and implement their own plans to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. It would allow industries that have not already been deemed essential to operate if it is safe to do so. The bill passed 108 to 94.

“The one piece that's very crucial in this bill is that county commissioners would be authorized to develop an emergency mitigation plan for the businesses,” Mustello said. “They can use their own plan as long as its up to the standards that have been set forth.”

Mustello said legislators have not been given any indication on whether the governor will sign the bills. “I would hope he'll trust the residents of pennsylvania to do the right thing,” she said.

In a call with media on Thursday, Wolf said he intended to advise more counties on their phases on Friday, which likely will not include any movement from yellow to green. “We'll be making another announcement tomorrow, and we'll decide tomorrow morning what those counties are,” he said.

While the state saw movement in the House on Thursday, the state also saw statewide COVID-19 statistics spike once again.

Since the pandemic began, the state Department of Health's reporting has shown spikes to its total deaths and cases on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

On Thursday, the department added another 275 COVID-19 deaths to the statewide total of 4,218 deaths.

During a news conference Thursday, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine attributed the number to reconciliation. She said the Department has been working with the Department of Health in Philadelphia which uses a different data collection system than its own. “Today there were 44 new deaths reported overnight,” Levine said. “The remaining 231 were as a result of the reconciliation, and that's really deaths over the last couple of weeks.”

Butler County's own death toll remained the same at six, despite a report from BHS over the weekend that one patient had died at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Levine said the epidemiologists working for the department are working on a formula to estimate the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19. Recovery figures have been requested multiple times by media outlets and the public. “It is challenging to determine an exact number of recovered patients, but we realize this is important to the public,” Levine said. “We're hoping to have that sometime next week.”

As Levine reviewed numbers and answered questions during her news conference, she also encouraged the continued care for children through the pandemic.

“Vaccines are a great way to protect yourselves and your family from a number of life-threatening illnesses,” Levine said.

Levine said parents can call their pediatricians to schedule vaccinations, even with the restrictions in place now. “We want to make sure there's not a secondary health crisis because of a delay in vaccinations,” she said.

The following numbers about the coronavirus pandemic are compiled daily from the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s website and regular releases from Butler Health System.Thursday’s COVID-19 statistics:Butler CountyConfirmed cases: 199Negative tests: 2,914Deaths:6PennsylvaniaNew cases: 938Total cases: 59,636New deaths: 275Total deaths: 4,218Negative tests: 251,559Surrounding CountiesAllegheny: 1,551 confirmed cases; 21,086 negative test results; and 139 deathsArmstrong: 56 confirmed; 944 negative; and 5 deathsBeaver: 512 confirmed; 2,581 negative; and 82 deathsClarion: 24 confirmed; 570 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 71 confirmed; 950 negative; and 7 deathsMercer: 81 confirmed; 1,009 negative; and 2 deathsVenango: 7 confirmed and 338 negativeWestmoreland: 422 confirmed; 6,533 negative; and 32 deaths- The total number of cases includes confirmed and probable cases.- The total deaths and new deaths include only confirmed deaths, which is a person who tested positive for the virus before their death.