Photo from the Pa. Department of Health A map that shows the location of the state’s COVID-19 cases. Darker colors indicate a higher number of cases.

The number of cases of COVID-19 continues to climb in Pennsylvania.

And there are now multiple confirmed cases in Warren County’s part of the state.

That includes one case in Erie County and one in Potter County, both of which are new additions to the list as of Friday.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine started Friday’s briefing by noting that the first two cases were reported just two weeks ago.

The total on Friday now sits at 268 cases, 83 added with Friday’s update.

Levine said the “exponential growth of new cases” and the increase in additional counties where cases have been detected “shows the need for the aggressive steps that the governor has taken to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We are seriously concerned that individuals in the 20-44 age range are not heeding the message to stay home and are creating an unnecessary risk to themselves and others,” she said, noting that “could lead to (a) significant impact on our health care system.”

She called Pennsylvanians “problem solvers” and said that the “one thing you can do is to stay home and limit your interactions to your immediate family. That is the only way that we can make sure that people don’t get sick. That is the only way (we can ensure people) don’t need to be hospitalized. That is the only way that we don’t strain our healthcare system to the pint that it breaks. That is the only way that our economy recovers quickly.

“What is important for Pennsylvanians (is to) stay calm, stay home and stay safe.”

When can we expect this situation to improve and know whether all these measures are effective?

“We expect things to get worse before they get better,” Levine said. “(We are) still seeing an exponential rise. We expect that to continue.

“We’re going to see a surge before we see the decline.”

Cases shifting into the northern and western part of the state is “not unexpected,” she said. “(We) expect to see COVID-19 in most of not all of the counties.”

Here’s a county-by-county breakdown of cases as of March 20: Montgomery (59), Philadelphia (42), Allegheny (28), Delaware (23), Monroe (19), Chester (17), Bucks (16), Cumberland (11), Northampton (10) and the state’s lone death, York (6), Berks (5), Adams, Lackawanna and Westmoreland (4), Beaver and Washington (3), Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne and Pike (2) and Centre, Erie, Franklin, Lebanon, Potter and Wayne (1).