HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania on Wednesday reported below 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus for the fourth straight day, the longest such streak since the daily reports of new cases first reached four figures in early April.
Health Secretary Rachel Levine called the four-day dip below 1,000 “good news.”
“Trends mean more than any specific day, but it's starting to form a trend, so I think that that’s very positive news,” Levine said during a video news conference.
Also Wednesday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the creation of the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps, an organization whose scale, funding and timeline remained unclear Wednesday.
The corps, Wolf said, will be designed to marshal Pennsylvanians into a force of workers to help contain future outbreaks of the virus and inject life into the economy.
“To have an impact on the economy, we want this to be a big deal," Wolf told a video news conference.
He said he is working to secure federal funding for the project.
In other coronavirus-related news in Pennsylvania:
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CASES
Cases tallied in the two months since Pennsylvania reported its first positive test now number more than 51,840, according to the state Department of Health, an increase of 888 from Tuesday's figures.
Even so, the state has reported nearly 7,500 new cases in the past week, an increase of 17%. The state reported 94 more deaths, bringing the statewide total to 3,106.
All told, about 256,000 people have been tested in Pennsylvania in the past two months, or 2% of the population. About one-fifth of those tests were conducted in the past week.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. There is no data on how many people have fully recovered.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.