NIH director: Large-scale vaccine testing expected by July

EU weighs stance amid concern over Israeli annexation plans

WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday reported 14 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and 3 new deaths.
				Those numbers bring the total cases to 2,491 and the death toll to 127.
				On Wednesday, there were 2,467 cases reported in Luzerne County.
				In Lackawanna County, there are now 1,273 confirmed cases and 141 deaths; in Monroe County, there are 1,242 cases and 70 deaths.
				The Department of Health confirmed that there are 986 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 60,622. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.
				The state is reporting 4,342 total deaths, an increase of 124 new deaths. Of the 124 new deaths, 89 were a result of reconciliation over the last several weeks; 35 of the deaths were ones reported to the department within the last few days. &#92;
				In nursing and personal care homes, there are 12,937 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,039 cases among employees, for a total of 14,976 at 550 distinct facilities in 44 counties. Out of our total deaths, 2,991 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
				&#8226; In 19 unidentified Luzerne County nursing homes, there were 404 cases among residents and 71 staff cases. The report shows 93 have died in nursing homes in the county.
				&ldquo;As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,&rdquo; said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. &ldquo;We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders. I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.&rdquo;
				Arena testing site
				The Wolf Administration Friday tested 47 symptomatic residents at the administration&rsquo;s COVID-19 testing site at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre.
				So far, 1,837 individuals have been tested at the site.
				The drive-thru testing site is being held in the parking lot of the Mohegan Sun Pocono Arena and pre-registration is required. The site is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily to test symptomatic Northeast Pennsylvanian residents.
				Registration is required one day in advance and can be found on the Department of Health&rsquo;s website, health.pa.gov. Registration by phone is also available by calling 1-877-PA-HEALTH. Appointments are capped at 200 per day. No onsite registration is available.
				Statewide statistics
				There are 259,210 patients who have tested negative to date. Of the patients who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is as follows:
				Nearly 1% are aged 0-4;
				Nearly 1% are aged 5-12;
				Nearly 2% are aged 13-18;
				Nearly 6% are aged 19-24;
				Nearly 37% are aged 25-49;
				Nearly 26% are aged 50-64; and
				28% are aged 65 or older.
				Most of the patients hospitalized are aged 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
				Approximately 4,349 of our total cases are in health care workers.
				For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit &ldquo;Responding to COVID-19&rdquo; on pa.gov.
				Non-life-sustaining businesses in the red phase are ordered to be closed and schools are closed statewide through the remainder of the academic year. Currently, 24 counties are in the yellow phase of reopening; 13 more will move to the yellow phase on May 15.

3 new COVID-19 related deaths in Luzerne County; 14 new confirmed cases