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The last peak of covid-19 that health officials have warned appears to have arrived in Pennsylvania.
On Saturday, the state released 4,213 new cases of covid, the highest tally in one day since February 7 (4,717). Over the past week, the seven-day average of new cases (2 888) increased by more than 16%.
Cases have not increased as quickly since early January.
After recording an average of about 2,400 new cases per day in the first 15 days of March, the state has averaged nearly 3,400 cases per day over the past five.
Cases in the state were in decline after a difficult December and early January. As of January 11, the state was recording an average of 8,700 new cases per day. By February 25, that average had fallen to around 2,400, a drop of 72%.
However, the sharp decline then stopped and had hovered at the same level (2,400), until a few days ago.
Statewide
Of the last 4,213 cases of covidus in the state, 2,848 cases were confirmed by PCR testing, while 1,365 were listed as probable. Health officials define a probable case as a case in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or symptoms of covid with a “high risk exposure” to a person who has been confirmed to have a. 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 counties in western Pennsylvania reporting: Westmoreland (81), Washington (60), Butler (39), Fayette (31), Beaver (25), Lawrence (14), Armstrong (10), Indiana (9) and Greene (5).
There were 33 new covidus-related deaths reported on Saturday, including 29 in March, one in February, two in January and one in December.
To date, 24,774 Pennsylvanians have died from covid-19.
As cases rise, deaths continue to drop. Seven-day Covid deaths in Pennsylvania have fallen 51% since March 1 – from 412 to 201. Since the start of the year, that number has fallen 85% – from 1,357 to 201.
The state’s OpenDataPA portal reports that 1,529 Pennsylvania residents are currently hospitalized with covid-19. Of these, 318 are in intensive care units and 189 on ventilators.
In Pennsylvania, 1,638,137 inhabitants were fully vaccinated – either with the two covid vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna or with the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This represents almost 13% of the state’s population. There are 3,363,267 residents with at least one shot, or 26.5% of the state.
Since the start of the pandemic over a year ago, the state has seen 984,515 virus cases, with 841,294 confirmed by PCR tests.
Allegheny County
Allegheny County health officials reported 368 new cases of covid on Saturday. Of these, 272 have been confirmed, while 96 have been listed as probable.
The new cases ranged from 11 months to 93 years, with a median age of 34 years.
The recent spike in cases in the state is also evident in Allegheny County, where the seven-day average of new cases is up 25% from March 8, when it was 215 cases per day . The current level of 268 cases per day returns to the county level on March 1. However, that number is still down considerably – 54% – from January 1, when it was 579.
On Saturday, the University of Pittsburgh reported an 83% increase in new cases of covid last week and said four of its campuses were in a “monitored risk posture.”
Authorities have reported four new covid-related deaths, with one of those deaths occurring in January. One death was associated with a long-term care facility. Three of the dead were people in their sixties; one was 90 years old.
The age distribution of the most recent cases in Allegheny County – 198 females, 170 males – is as follows:
- 0 to 4 years old: 14
- From 5 to 12 years old: 26
- 13 to 18 years old: 35
- 19 to 24 years old: 46
- 25 to 49 years old: 136
- 50 to 64 years old: 80
- 65 and over: 31
On the vaccination front, 169,165 have been fully vaccinated – either with the two covid vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine – in the county. This represents 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 reports that 154 residents of Allegheny County are hospitalized with covid-19. Of these, 39 are in intensive care units and 21 are on ventilators.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 81,655 cases of covid-19 in the county, including 63,325 confirmed by PCR testing.
Westmoreland County
In Westmoreland, 81 new cases of covids have been reported. Of these, 48 were confirmed by PCR testing, while 33 were listed as probable.
The state-level peak is also seen in Westmoreland County. The county’s seven-day new case average stands at 75, 36% more than just 12 days ago (55) and 12% more than March 1 (67), but still 64% less than it was on January 1 (209).
One new death linked to covids was reported in Westmoreland County on Saturday, bringing the total to 696 so far.
According to the state’s OpenDataPA portal, 26 Westmoreland County residents are currently hospitalized with covid-19.
The number is three higher than yesterday; however, it is significantly lower than what the portal has been reporting for weeks.
Barry Ciccocioppo, communications director at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the data was recently incorrect and the health department was examining the gap.
Of the 26 people hospitalized, the portal reports that three of them are in intensive care units and two are on ventilators.
There have been 43,683 fully vaccinated – either with the two covid vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna or the one shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson – representing nearly 12% of the county’s population. There are 89,651 residents with at least one shot – almost 25% of the population.
Since the start of the pandemic, 28,094 cases of covidus have been recorded in the county, of which 19,648 have been confirmed by PCR testing.
Chris Pastrick is a digital producer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, [email protected] or via Twitter .
Categories:
Allegheny | Coronavirus | Local | Pennsylvania | Top stories | Westmoreland
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