As the pandemic continues, the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday touted its expanded contact tracing network.

To date, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has 61 contact tracers in its Southwest District, which includes Butler County.

Contact tracing is the process of identifying, notifying and monitoring anyone who comes in close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 while they were infectious.

“Across Pennsylvania, we have dedicated public health professionals who truly are the backbone of contact tracing, working alongside our regional partnerships, staff and volunteers,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in a news release Wednesday.

According to Wednesday's report by the Department of Health, Butler County added five confirmed cases of the coronavirus Wednesday and has a total of 468 confirmed cases throughout the pandemic. The county's death toll remained at 14.

Also Wednesday, Butler Health System reported declining hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

On Monday, Butler Memorial Hospital reported seven patients were being treated for COVID-19. As of Wednesday, the hospital was treating five inpatients, four with confirmed cases and one suspected of having the virus. Of the five inpatients, one is being treated in the intensive care unit.

Likely these patients, along with anyone else who has tested positive for COVID-19, have talked with contact tracers.

“A public health staff member will call people who were diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19 to conduct a case investigation within 24 hours of receiving the positive result to obtain a list of close contacts they had while infectious,” said Maggi Mumma, deputy press secretary for the Department of Health.

According to Department of Health estimates, most Pennsylvanians share an average of one to 10 contacts with another person, meaning they interact with the same people as someone else on a regular basis.

Contact tracers use the Sara Alert System as well as other state surveillance systems to track, monitor, isolate and test symptomatic contacts. The web-based monitoring tool enables contact tracers to send daily emails, texts and phone calls to people who test positive for COVID-19 and identified close contacts throughout their isolation and quarantine monitoring periods.

Mumma said the department is encouraging everyone to pick up their phones when they receive a phone call, even if the number looks unfamiliar.

“This may be a contact tracer trying to get in touch with you,” she said. “If you would like to verify if the caller does in fact work in contact tracing, call the PA Department of health at 1-877-PA HEALTH to verify.”

Earlier in the pandemic, the department had promised to expand its contact tracing network through use of volunteers, regional partnerships and hiring staff contact tracers.

As of Wednesday the state estimated a need of at least 626 contact tracers statewide while reporting a current pool of 661 tracers.

“Contact tracing is critical to identify any instances of community spread and prevent larger outbreaks to keep Pennsylvania safe from COVID-19,” Levine said. “Without case investigations the proven public health strategies, like contact tracing efforts and monitoring would not be possible.”

The following numbers on the coronavirus pandemic were compiled from regular news releases from the state Department of Health and the Butler Health SystemWednesday's COVID-19 statistics:<b>Butler County</b>Confirmed cases: 468Probable cases: 45Negative tests: 10,291Deaths: 14<b>Pennsylvania</b>New cases: 631Total cases: 103,396New deaths: 25Total deaths: 7,063Recovered: 75 percent<b>Butler Memorial hospital</b>Inpatients: 5Suspected: 1Confirmed: 4ICU: 1Total tests: 12,602Outdoor tests: 4,850Positive tests: 285<b>Clarion hospital</b>Inpatients: 2Suspected: 0Confirmed: 2ICU: 1Total tests: 2,658Outdoor tests: 1,956Positive tests: 66<b>Surrounding Counties</b>Allegheny: 6,670 confirmed cases; 92,768 negative; and 214 deathsArmstrong: 129 confirmed; 3,229 negative; and 6 deathsBeaver: 1,018 confirmed; 9,678 negative; and 82 deathsClarion: 67 confirmed; 1,606 negative; and 2 deathsLawrence: 226 confirmed; 4,187 negative; and 9 deathsMercer: 245 confirmed; 6,392 negative; and 9 deathsVenango: 37 confirmed and 2,387 negativeWestmoreland: 1,180 confirmed; 25,664 negative; and 41 deaths.