As Pa. cases top 156K, Wolf announces state has protective gear

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 676 more cases of the coronavirus on Monday, as Gov. Tom Wolf says the state has a stockpile of protective equipment in case the virus spikes in coming months.

The new virus report from the state also says there were 918 more cases on Sunday, with the two-day addition of cases making the total 156,826. The state also added seven new deaths over that period, for a total of 8,107.

The number of people hospitalized in the state Monday afternoon was 481. That figure is higher than it has been in recent weeks, but much lower than it was earlier in the pandemic.

The statewide percent-positivity rate went down to 3.2% from 3.7% last week, the Health Department said.

The 481 figure includes 27 people in Lehigh County and one in Northampton County. Lehigh added 40 new cases over the two-day period, while Northampton added 27. Neither county added any new deaths.

Meanwhile, Wolf said in a news release that the state has a stockpile of protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields and other protective equipment known as PPE in preparation for any spike in COVID-19 cases in the coming months.

“We have significantly more PPE on hand to assist those who need it than we had prior to COVID-19,” Wolf said. “We continue to push PPE to those

who need and request it and will work to ensure we keep our stockpile filled.”

During a press conference, Wolf referred to a written public statement he issued on Friday that asked the campaign of President Donald Trump to abide by COVID-19 mitigation guidance and stop holding “unsafe” rallies in the state.

Wolf said he sent a letters to the Trump team, but got no response, so he issued the public statement. He said that as far he knew, Democratic challenger Joe Biden was not holding well-attended public rallies and was doing most events remotely.

“It seems to me the vice president has been pretty responsible when it comes to that,” Wolf said. “The president’s not doing it that way. He is bringing people together. Many of them aren’t wearing masks.”