The state Department of Health on Tuesday reported two more local deaths from the coronavirus — among a total of 360 “new” deaths statewide, but area coroners didn’t know the identities of the deceased — apparently because the deaths were among newly added “probable” fatalities that have occurred as far back as a few weeks.

One additional death was in Centre County and one in Cambria, bringing the six-county region’s death count to five.

The Centre County coroner’s office hadn’t received a report about the death, according to someone in that office Tuesday afternoon, while the Cambria County coroner’s office — which didn’t return a call — likewise was unaware of what had happened, according to Blair County Coroner Patty Ross, who had been in contact with her Cambria counterpart.

In an effort to ensure that it is getting as much data on the effects of COVID-19 as possible, the DoH on Tuesday added the probable deaths, numbering 300, covering cases of people were never tested, but who had symptoms of COVID-19, contact with a patient who’d tested positive and a COVID-19 cause on their death certificate, according to Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine.

The spate of listed deaths was much higher than for any previous day — 84 more than the previous high on Sunday, when the count was inflated by the department’s “reconciling” its electronic data system with the one to which coroners report.

The latest revisions to the death reporting “is a culmination of efforts to bring to the public the most accurate data possible,” Levine said.

Testing

Pennsylvania is trying to ramp up its testing capacity in preparation for beginning its reopening of businesses on May 8, and it has plenty of testing “platforms,” or kits, but not enough reagents and sampling swabs, according to Gov. Tom Wolf, who spoke on a teleconference Tuesday.

The state also needs more sampling sites, he said.

That may include more “mass” sampling sites like one in Montgomery County and one that opened Monday in Luzerne County, he said.

The state wants to get to the point where testing can be done frequently and at home, Wolf said.

A national lab is now providing a means for “self-swab” sampling, the governor said.

A drug store chain is now providing a testing option, Levine said.

The state is exploring antibody testing, but “the jury is out” on which kind to use, according to Wolf.

It’s uncertain how much protection antibodies to the novel coronavirus will afford — plenty, a little or none — and how long such protection may last, Levine said.

It’s unlikely antibody testing will be ready for the reopening launch, Levine said.

The state is also planning to adopt a contact tracing program, which will be an important and “robust” part of the reopening strategy, she said.

The reopening will be county-by-county, beginning with those where the infection is mildest, Wolf indicated.

In some areas, the opening will be “fairly robust,” Wolf said.

In Philadelphia, lots of people are still getting sick and dying, he said, suggesting that the reopening there will be further away.

The state will need “to steer a fine course between keeping people safe and getting back” to normal life, Wolf said. But the top priority will be keeping people safe, he said.

Business

Asked Monday about concerns from business owners that when they restart their operations they might run short on employees because some workers may be able to collect more in unemployment — especially given the extra $600 a week from the federal government — than they would earn from working, Wolf said the solution is to pay those employees more.

Asked Tuesday whether he cared to revisit that answer, because “some say it might be a bit insensitive,” Wolf reiterated his suggestion, adding that as a business owner, he had to be sure to pay competitive rates.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.