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HARRISBURG (AP) -- State health officials have announced six additional presumptive positive cases of the coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 47 cases, and the governor urged non-essential businesses in two more Philadelphia-area counties to shut down amid the outbreak.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Saturday that there were two cases in Allegheny County -- the first reported there -- as well as two new cases in adults from Montgomery County, one in an adult from Philadelphia and one in an adult from Chester County. All are either in isolation at home or are being treated at a hospital.
Gov. Tom Wolf also extended to Chester and Bucks counties a call for non-essential businesses to close, echoing a voluntary call made earlier to Montgomery and Delaware counties. He said essential infrastructure such as pharmacies, grocery stores and gas stores will remain open, and officials said travel is not being restricted.
"If we can slow the spread of this virus … we can keep an enormous number of Pennsylvanians from needing the kind of emergency treatment at the same time that's going to overwhelm our health care system," Wolf said. "Stay calm, stay home and stay safe."
In Philadelphia, however, city officials said people should feel free to continue to go to retail businesses and public parks while warning that this advice could change. Mayor Jim Kenney urged people to wash their hands and stay three feet from other people, but added "go out and have dinner and tip your wait staff, because they're struggling right now."
"We have to figure out a way that we can continue moving forward without panicking to the point where everything shuts down," Kenney said Saturday. "We may be healthier but the economy will be in the tank, and we can't have that." He later said on Twitter that he was "attempting to show support for local businesses and stop panic. … We should all be mindful to limit gatherings, and of course, if you don't feel well, stay home."
Wolf said a special election scheduled Tuesday in Bucks County will be postponed, but there is no agreement yet on a new date.
Museums and casinos in the commonwealth joined the growing number of organizations announcing temporary closures due to the outbreak. Officials said Free Library locations in Philadelphia would be closed to the public, heeding a recommendation from the state, but staff members were told to report to work.
In Pittsburgh, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said "social distancing" would be a challenge in bars and restaurants, but businesses are being urged to lower occupancy rates "to give people more space." He warned that city police, firefighters and inspectors would be "on the ground strictly enforcing occupancy maximums."
PECO announced that the utility provider was suspending service disconnections and waiving new late payment charges through at least May 1.