By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
COVID-19 cases continue to grow in Pennsylvania and Chester County, as Gov. Tom Wolf added more counties Saturday to the “stay at home” orders, bringing the statewide total to 22 counties under virtual lockdown to fight the spread of virus.
The order now includes these 22 counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland and York counties.
The state Department of Health has identified 2,751 positive tests as of Saturday, with 34 deaths — including 12 on Friday — and 25,254 negative tests. Philadelphia has passed Montgomery County as the hotspot in the commonwealth, both terms of positive cases and fatalities linked to the outbreak.
In Chester County, growth continued, with numbers rising from 102 to 110 according the Chester County Health, with 1,213 tests being negative.
“Our notable increase in cases over the past week indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Pennsylvanians have a very important job right now: stay calm, stay home and stay safe. We have seen case counts continue to increase and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home.”
The United States has the most positive tests in the world now, having passed China and Italy.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles moved Friday to extend expiration dates on drivers licenses, identification cards, learner’s permits, persons with disability placards, vehicle registrations and safety and emission inspections will be extended for Pennsylvania residents in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
Deadlines on the following types of documents will be extended effective March 27, 2020:
- Driver licenses, photo ID cards and learner’s permits scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020 through April 30, 2020, the expiration date is now extended through May 31, 2020.
- Vehicle registrations, safety inspections and emissions inspections scheduled to expire from March 16 through April 30, 2020, the expiration date is now extended through May 31, 2020.
- Persons with Disabilities parking placards scheduled to expire from March 16 through April 30, 2020, the expiration date is now extended through May 31, 2020.
