State officials unveiled new guidance Tuesday for long-term care facilities and discussed the release of a COVID-19 alert app.

In a news release, the Department of Human Services announced it would match the latest guidance by the Department of Health earlier this month.

“Changes to policies and procedures at long-term care facilities are necessary to keep residents and staff safe from COVID-19,” said DHS Secretary Teresa Miller in the release.

The Department of Health oversees the nursing homes in the state while the Department of Human Services oversees the rest of the long-term care facilities in the state.

“(As) situations evolve in communities around the commonwealth, we must have a plan to safely allow facilities to ease certain restrictions and operate under a new normal that continues to prioritize COVID-19 safety,” she said.

Tuesday's shift by DHS links the retesting strategies for long-term care facilities to the status of the county's level of community COVID-19 activity.

The main indicator for community activity is gauged by the county's percent positivity. The three thresholds of community activity are low, less than 5% percent positivity; moderate, 5 to 10%; and substantial more than 10%.

According to the COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard from the Department of Health, last week Butler County had a percent positivity rate of 3.3 percent, which would place it in the low threshold.

Guidance for low-risk counties would mean no routine testing of asymptomatic residents, and only routine testing of all asymptomatic staff every four to six weeks. Symptomatic residents and staff are tested immediately, regardless of classification.

While Butler County reached the low threshold last week, the county had exactly a 5 percent positivity rate the week before, which maintained its placement in the moderate level.

In the moderate level, long-term care facilities are recommended to test all asymptomatic residents who have had outside contact in the past 14 days and the testing of asymptomatic staff should take place every 30 days.

State officials have claimed that it often takes about two weeks of consistent data to merit moving a county from one level to the next.

“We will continue to provide guidance and updated best practices for long-term care facilities, so we may all work together to keep staff of these facilities and residents as safe as possible,” Miller said.

Adhering to the guidance, long-term care facilities can resume allowing visitors, although with expanded protocols for testing and sanitization on the part of the visitors.

On Tuesday, a new app will also help visitors and other Pennsylvanians see whether they have been exposed to the virus, adding another tool that could keep COVID-19 out of communities most at risk.

Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine conducted a news conference Tuesday to discuss the release of the COVID Alert PA phone application.

“We all play a part in stopping the spread of COVID-19, which is why I am encouraging every Pennsylvanian to add their phone to the fight and download COVID Alert PA today,” Levine said.

The application does not use GPS tracking, which was a core concern for many when the app was originally announced. Instead, it uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with other devices to exchange one core piece of information — whether someone has been exposed to COVID-19. If the answer is yes, then an alert is sent to others near that person to make them aware that an anonymous person near them could be asymptomatic.

“This app is a simple tool you can use to help fight COVID-19 every day, everywhere you go,” Wolf said. “I encourage you to visit your app store and download it for free today.”

The application is available on all major phone application marketplaces.