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The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported nearly 16,000 new cases of coronavirus and 139 deaths over a two-day period.
The state reported 15,785 new cases, including 8,425 new cases on Thursday and 7,360 new cases on Friday. The department hasn’t released new Thanksgiving numbers, so Friday’s report includes data for the past two days. Across Pennsylvania, 343,614 people have now contracted the coronavirus.
Statewide, 10,234 deaths have been linked to COVID-19, including 139 newly reported deaths, the health department said on Friday. The number of deaths has increased more sharply in recent weeks. About two-thirds of deaths in the state have occurred in long-term care facilities.
The number of hospitalizations has increased considerably in recent weeks. According to the health department, 4,114 COVID-19 patients are in hospital beds, an increase of 124 since Wednesday. As a prospect, around 450 coronavirus patients required hospital treatment at the end of September.
There are now 864 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, according to the health department.
Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine said some projections show that if the peak continues, beds in the state’s intensive care unit could be filled in December. Levine asked hospitals to work together and help each other if the facilities are reaching their capacity limits. She also called on health care systems to review elective procedures and be prepared to postpone them if necessary to conserve beds and resources.
- Pennsylvania intensive care units full of COVID-19 patients
There were 58,103 COVID-19 test results reported to the health department on Wednesday and 57,971 tests reported until 10 p.m. Thursday.
The state has run 464,069 tests in the past seven days, with 38,851 positive cases this week.
Almost all of Pennsylvania’s counties – 63 out of 67 – show substantial spread of the virus, according to the health department. Most of these counties have shown substantial spread for two weeks or more.
Earlier this week, Levine ordered school districts to inform the state of the steps they are taking to operate safely, either with distance education or how they handle offers in person. Many school districts in Pennsylvania have switched to distance education, at least temporarily, as cases have risen in recent weeks.
Governor Tom Wolf’s administration this week decided to adopt new measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. These milestones include new limits on gatherings: Indoor events are capped at 500 people and outdoor gatherings are capped at 2,500, Levine said.
Wolf has also issued an advisory for residents to stay home whenever possible. It’s not a stay-at-home order, but Wolf urged residents to stay home as much as possible and wear masks.
The state’s positive test rate for the virus has risen to 11%, according to state figures. The state improved its testing capacity, but Levine stressed that the increase in the number of cases was not simply due to the state running more tests. Data shows that the percentage of people with COVID-19 continues to rise.
The health department reports that 61% of those who contracted the coronavirus have recovered; this percentage has decreased as the number of new infections has increased. Several weeks ago, more than 80% of those infected had recovered. The state considers patients to have recovered when they are 30 days past the point of infection or the onset of symptoms.
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Pa. Exceeds 10,000 COVID-19 Deaths – Here Are Numbers That Tell Us More
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