PA Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 2,400

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania reported 64 new coronavirus deaths Saturday, bringing the state's COVID-19 death toll to 2,418. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 1,334 additional positive cases of the virus, which has now infected 48,305 in the state.

State Health Secretary Rachel Levine, in a Saturday afternoon news conference, stressed the importance of continuing social distancing even as some counties begin to reopen on May 8.

"This remains a very dangerous virus, and this virus remains throughout Pennsylvania. We need to be very careful that we maintain many of the social distancing measures that we have talked about," Levine said.

"Try to be six feet away from other people, wear masks, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer. All of that continues. We want people to tele-work whenever possible. We want retail stores to use curbside pickup whenever possible and we want people to be socially distant if they go inside stores. We do not want large gatherings," she said.

The phased reopening of 24 counties on May 8 is part of a three-phase plan that designates each county as red, yellow or green. The color designation determines what mitigation measures previously set to stop the spread of the virus can be lifted, if any.

The counties that will move from red to yellow May 8 are: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango and Warren.

To determine each region's eligibility to reopen, officials are assessing target goals related to infection rates, testing capabilities, hospital capacity and other factors.

MORE: Here Are The Metrics That Will Guide PA's Reopening