Berks County has recorded the biggest one-day total in coronavirus COVID-19 positives, 211, in state reporting Saturday.

And, eight more deaths were reported Saturday by the county coroner, pushing the outbreak total to 79.

The Berks case outbreak total has surged to 1,748. That total has leaped to fifth most in counties behind Philadelphia, 8,502; Montgomery, 2,781; Delaware, 2,317; and Lehigh, 2,141. Lehigh has also seen a surge in positives in recent days.

The state registered a total of 1,628 positives in Saturday's reporting, which was through Friday. Berks had more than an eighth of the state total.

County commissioners warned Thursday that residents were not taking precautions seriously and that a surge was possible along with a strain on the health care network.

"Things are certainly going in the wrong direction," said commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach later Saturday. "This is exactly why we held the event on Thursday and have our DYP campaign going into full gear."

He urged residents to visit www.DoYourPartBerks.com

Nursing home residents made up more than 50 new cases for the second day and Berks remains the county with the fourth-highest number of infections among residents of long-term care facilities at an outbreak total of 291, the state said.

Of the eight new deaths Saturday, all were Berks residents, two died at Reading Hospital, and one at Penn State Health St. Joseph.

Most COVID-19 deaths are among people age 65 and older with preexisting medical conditions that makes them vulnerable to COVID-19, officials have said. Most people who come down with the coronavirus suffer mild symptoms and recover without requiring hospital care.

The Saturday deaths included 55- and 59-year-old men, and the oldest victim in Berks to date in Reading Eagle tabulation, a 100-year-old woman.

Earlier Saturday, commissioners reported the first coronavirus death among residents at the county-owned Berks Heim in Bern Township.

An 87-year-woman displayed symptoms on April 16 and tested positive on April 17 and passed away the same day, the county reported. The patient was in the dementia unit, Essex Commons, the county said.

"The Berks County Commissioners offer their condolences to the family and friends," a press release stated.

The death was among the eight reported Saturday by the coroner.

Leinbach added this: “The sad reality of this virus is that some people, primarily the elderly and those with underlying conditions will die. That truth doesn’t make the loss any easier for family or friends and our prayers are with the family of this lady.”

The county said Berks Heim continues to take precautions including monitoring of temperatures, symptoms, and following recommended guidelines to restrict access as necessary based on Centers for Disease Control, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Health standards.

All staff are wearing isolation/surgical masks. No general visitors are allowed, the county added.

The state says half of all COVID-19 deaths are in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The St. Joseph online dashboard shows 26 patients in the hospital, six cases under investigation, with an outbreak total of four deaths and 18 discharges.

The state released $16 million in funding for food banks across Pennsylvania. A breakdown of that amount was not available.

The outbreak totals for the state are 31,069 positives, nearly 123,000 negatives and 836 deaths.

However, Berks and other counties are reporting much higher death counts than the state's listings for the respective counties. Record keeping procedures and a lag in processing death certificates are often cited as the reasons.