Increases in area coronavirus cases slowed Wednesday, and numbers for Montour County actually decreased for the second straight day, according to the state Health Department.

But cases in Luzerne County, which now has the state’s largest concentration of cases outside the Philadelphia and Allentown areas, continued to soar.

As a response, county Manager David Pedri announced the launch of a county task force Facebook page to keep residents and visitors informed.

HARRISBURG — In a surprise move, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission opened trout fishing across the state Tuesday morning, more than a week ahead of the expected opening date.

It was an effort to keep crowds to a managable size along rivers and lakes, where anglers could keep spaced out while fishing, commission spokesman Mike Parker said.

Area fishing spots saw small groups of anglers throughout the day. Around noon at Briar Creek Lake, there were about 10 people fishing and two boats on the lake, outdoors columnist Tom Austin said.

CENTRALIA — On Monday, crews from Fox Coal Co. began dumping the first of 400 loads of earth to cover over Graffiti Highway. Here's what that looked like, from the ground and the air.

HARRISBURG — Luzerne County reported a fourth COVID-19-related death in numbers released by the Department of Health on Tuesday, as the number of positive tests in the county increased to more than 200.

In Columbia County, cases increased from six to seven. In Montour County, the number of reported cases actually decreased from 10 to nine.