The first death related to coronavirus was recorded in Pennsylvania on Wednesday as cases increased sharply in the state.

The patient was an adult from Northampton County and was being treated at a hospital, according to the state Department of Health. No further details were available.

In a brief, live-streamed address, Gov. Tom Wolf urged Pennsylvania residents to heed mitigation efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Every day that goes by that people continue to freely interact is a day that the virus continues to unknowingly infect more people,” Wolf said. “Today’s is just the first death of what will become many. And our only hope is to keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed so that our medical professionals can do the most they can. We need businesses to follow our guidance and heed our mitigation efforts if we want to save lives. We need to stay home if we want to save lives. We need to work together if we want to save lives.”

The Allegheny County Health Department reported one new confirmed and one new presumptive positive case of covid-19 earlier in the day.

This brings the number of confirmed cases in Allegheny County to eight and the number of presumptive positive cases to four, for a total of 12 cases.

Additional details about the latest local cases were not yet available.

The Department of Health reported 37 additional cases, raising the statewide total from 96 to 133. An additional case was reported in Beaver County. Washington County continues to report two cases.

That number did not reflect all of the new Allegheny County cases and does not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual counties. The state updates its numbers once daily at noon.

Erie County reported its first case Wednesday afternoon, a 35-year-old resident, but that addition was yet to be reflected in the state’s official total.

“At this time we are seeing that exponential curve in terms of new cases,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said during a press conference Wednesday. “That is being seen globally, that is being seen in the United States and that is being seen in Pennsylvania.”

Pennsylvania is not yet experiencing sustained community spread — cases in which someone is infected with the virus, but it cannot be determined where or how the patient was infected, Levine said.

“We do expect that sustained community spread will happen in Pennsylvania,” Levine said, adding that the steep rise in new cases Wednesday highlights the importance of social distancing measures in order to mitigate the spread of covid-19.

As the number of cases grows, it is not possible to perform contact tracing for each case and it will not be possible to say how may cases were the result of community spread, she said.

“We will see if there’s sustained community spread, which is a significant number of cases for which we have no idea of how they have obtained it,” Levine said. “We will get an idea from our county and municipal health department partners and our own efforts about that, but we’re not going to know each single case in terms of contact tracing.”

So far, 1,187 people have tested negative, according to the state figures.

Commercial labs are the primary testing option for most Pennsylvanians, and data is not available on the number of tests pending, according to a statement from the state health department.

Berks, Lackawanna and York counties reported their first cases, and Montgomery County — the hardest-hit in the state — jumped from 32 to 42 cases.

Other recent cases reported in Allegheny County include a patient in their 60s, who is hospitalized.

Three of the presumptive positive patients are young adults over the age of 18 who are in isolation at home.

The first two cases of covid-19 in Allegheny County were reported Saturday.

Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen highlighted the need to slow down the spread of covid-19 during a virtual question-and-answer session with the public Tuesday.

She estimated that 40% to 60% of adults in Western Pennsylvania could be infected before the pandemic subsides.

“Sadly, eventually, everyone in this room, or at least half of us in this room, probably will get this infection,” Bogen said, speaking from a room with other public officials. “However, hopefully we will spread out how quickly we get that infection.”

Bogen also called on local health care providers to cancel elective surgeries to ensure that they are prepared to handle a potential influx in patients due to the spread of covid-19.

Levine reiterated similar recommendations from the state during a press conference Wednesday, noting that regulations requiring health care providers to notify the state if they are increasing bed capacity have been waived.

“I expect that there will be a need for some novel and creative ideas about nontraditional space,” Levine said. “I don’t have specifics at this time. We’re considering all alternatives and are working with the hospitals and health systems.”

When asked about a potential shortage of ventilators, Levine said the health department is working to secure a backup supply if the state’s supply is exhausted.

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