Governor again expanding order for residents to stay home

Gov. Tom Wolf has extended his order for residents to stay at home in most circumstances to almost one-third of Pennsylvania’s counties amid an increase in coronavirus cases and a dozen more deaths that brought the total to 34 for the outbreak.

The governor on Saturday extended the order to Beaver, Centre and Washington Counties, making a total of 22 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties included. The order already covered three-fourths of the state’s 12.8 million residents.

“We’re seeing this virus begin to rear its ugly head in every corner of our commonwealth,” Wolf said Saturday.

The order restricts movement to certain health or safety-related travel, or travel to a job at an employer designated by Wolf’s administration as “life-sustaining.” The measures are designed to slow the spread of the virus and give the state’s hospitals time to increase staffing, equipment and bed space.

State heath officials announced more than 500 new cases, bringing the statewide total to more than 2,700 in 56 counties, and a dozen new deaths bringing the statewide total to 34 deaths.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

••• The governor’s office has announced measures aimed at allowing retired medical personnel and out-of-state practitioners to help care for patients amid the coronavirus outbreak, and temporarily lifting regulations to allow more people to provide care.

“We’re now allowing any licensed health care professional to provide services over telemedicine,” Wolf said. “This will help us provide existing standards of care to many patients without having them leave the safety of their homes.”