The latest covid-19 peak that health officials have been warning about appears to have reached Pennsylvania.
On Saturday, the state posted 4,213 new covid cases, the highest single-day count since February 7 (4,717). In the last week, the seven-day average of new cases (2,888) increased by more than 16%.
Cases have not increased so quickly since the beginning of January.
After an average of about 2,400 new cases per day during the first 15 days of March, the state has recorded an average of about 3,400 cases per day for the past five.
Cases in the state were on the decline after December and early January. On January 11, the state registered an average of 8,700 new cases per day. On February 25, that average dropped to about 2,400 – a decline of 72%.
However, the sharp decline then stopped and hovered at the same level (2,400), until just a few days ago.
Statewide
Of the last 4,213 new covide cases in the state, 2,848 cases have been confirmed through PCR tests, while 1,365 have been listed as probable. Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or suspicious symptoms with “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.
Philadelphia County led the day’s new case count with 472. This was followed by Allegheny (368), Bucks (358), Montgomery (332) and Berks (316).
Other West Pennsylvania county reports: Westmoreland (81), Washington (60), Butler (39), Fayette (31), Beaver (25), Lawrence (14), Armstrong (10), Indiana (9) and Greene ( 5).
33 new covid-related deaths were recorded on Saturday, 29 of them in March, one in February, two in January and one in December.
To date, 24,774 Pennsylvania residents have died as a result of the covid-19.
As cases increase, deaths continue to decrease. Covid’s seven-day Pennsylvania deaths have fallen 51% since March 1 – from 412 to 201. Since the beginning of the year, that number has fallen 85% – from 1,357 to 201.
The state’s OpenDataPA portal is reporting 1,529 Pennsylvania residents currently hospitalized with covid-19. Of these, 318 are in intensive care units and 189 in ventilators.
In Pennsylvania, 1,638,137 residents have been fully vaccinated – with both envious injections from Pfizer or Moderna or with the unique vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. That is almost 13% of the state’s population. There are 3,363,267 residents with at least one shot, which is 26.5% of the state.
Since the pandemic began more than a year ago, the state has seen 984,515 cases of the virus, with 841,294 confirmed through PCR tests.
Allegheny County
Health officials in Allegheny County reported 368 new greedy cases on Saturday. Of these, 272 were confirmed, while 96 were listed as probable.
The new cases ranged in age from 11 months to 93, with a median of 34 years.
The recent increase in cases in the state is also evident in Allegheny County, where the seven-day average of new cases is 25% higher than March 8, when it was 215 cases a day. The current level of 268 cases per day is back to what the county was on March 1. However, that number has still dropped a lot – 54% – since January 1, when it was 579.
On Saturday, the University of Pittsburgh reported an 83% increase in new greedy cases last week and said that four of its campuses are in a “protected risk posture”.
Authorities reported four new covid-related deaths, with one of those occurring in January. One death was associated with a long-term institution. Three of the deaths were of people in their 70s; one was in his 90s.
The age breakdown of the most recent cases in Allegheny County – 198 women, 170 men – is:
- Ages 0-4: 14
- From 5 to 12 years old: 26
- 13-18: 35
- Age 19-24: 46
- Age 25-49: 136
- Age 50-64: 80
- 65 and older: 31
On the vaccination front, 169,165 were fully vaccinated – both with the coveted injections from Pfizer or Moderna and with the unique vaccine from Johnson & Johnson – in the county. That is almost 14% of the total county population. There are 346,123 residents with at least one shot – over 28% of the population.
The state’s OpenDataPA portal is reporting that 154 residents in Allegheny County have been hospitalized for covid-19. Of these, 39 are in intensive care units and 21 in ventilators.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 81,655 covid-19 cases have occurred in the municipality, with 63,325 confirmed through PCR tests.
Westmoreland County
In Westmoreland, 81 new cases of covid have been reported. Of these, 48 were confirmed by the PCR test, while 33 were listed as probable.
The state-level peak is also being seen in Westmoreland County. The average seven-day new cases in the county are 75, 36% more than 12 days ago (55) and 12% more than on March 1 (67), but still 64% less than in January 1 (209).
A new covid-related death was reported in Westmoreland County on Saturday, bringing the total so far to 696.
According to the state’s OpenDataPA portal, there are 26 Westmoreland county residents currently hospitalized for covid-19.
The number is three more than yesterday; however, it is significantly less than what the portal had been reporting for weeks.
Barry Ciccocioppo, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the data has recently been incorrect and the health department is investigating the discrepancy.
Of the 26 people hospitalized, the portal reports that three of them are in intensive care units and two in ventilators.
There were 43,683 complete vaccines – both with the enviable injections from Pfizer or Moderna and with the unique vaccine from Johnson & Johnson – representing almost 12% of the county’s population. There are 89,651 residents with at least one shot – almost 25% of the population.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 28,094 cases of covid have been registered in the municipality, with 19,648 confirmed through PCR tests.
Chris Pastrick is a digital producer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Allegheny | Coronavirus | Location | Pennsylvania | Top news | Westmoreland