• Virus cases continue to rise ahead of restrictions being lifted,

Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 5,343 new cases of COVID-19 and 40 more deaths from the disease, meaning infections continue to rise as the state prepares to lift somemitigation measures.

Saturday’s numbers represent a continuing trend of higher cases counts even as more than 5.4 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, a sign that the pandemic is continuing even as doctors warn people not to let their guardsdown.

Pennsylvania has seen a total of 1,038,749 cases and 25,188 deaths from COVID-19, according to the stateDepartment of Health.

According to the latest briefing from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, lifting of mandates in Pennsylvania and other states may have contributed to recent virus transmission, in addition to increased mobility and the spread of more infectious variants of the virus.

On Sunday, the state is lifting more mitigation measures that were aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Restaurants will be allowed to resume bar service and sell alcohol without purchase of food, and indoor dining capacity will be raised to 75% for locations that selfcertify they are following health guidelines.

Gyms, casinos, theaters and malls will also be permitted to open to 75% capacity. Social distancing and masking requirements will remainin place.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced the changes March 15, citing declining case counts as a reason for resuming more normal operations. But cases have risen steadily in the weeks since, with the state reporting 21,753 cases of the virus in the past week, an increase of more than

3,300 compared to the prior week.

The rise in infections is also seen in Allegheny County, where the Health Department on Saturday reported 653 new cases of the virus and two new COVID-19 deaths. The decedents were in their 80s and 90s, and one of them was in a long-term care facility, the Health Departmentsaid.

New infections were made up of 452 confirmed and 201 probable cases. People who caught the virus ranged in age from three months to 98 years,the county said.

Since March 2020, the county has reported 87,101 coronavirus cases and 1,792 COVID-19 deaths. The state reports 441,707 people in the county have received at least onedose of the vaccine.

More information about COVID-19 and vaccines can be found on the county’s dashboard and the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.