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The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an increase of 11,763 new coronavirus cases on Friday, a new Pennsylvania record. In addition to the new cases, 169 additional deaths have been reported.
The total number of cases in the state now stands at 398,600 cases since March. The death toll rose to 11,113 deaths linked to COVID-19.
Your update on the coronavirus:
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Coronavirus in Pa.
Thirty-two of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties reported at least 100 new cases, and many of them were well over 300. It was another record-breaking day for the state, reversing previous records set Thursday in new cases , tests reported in the last day, seven-day positivity rate, and seven-day average of new cases. Pennsylvania recorded an average of 7,855 new cases per day last week out of a positivity rate of 33.6%.
The record number of cases is likely still revenue from a slow reporting weekend after Thanksgiving, but given the low number of cases the state has seen in the first few days of the week, averages over seven days are still pretty much what they’d be without a vacation.
(Can’t see the graph? Click here.)
It’s a virtual guarantee that Pennsylvania will reach 400,000 cases on Saturday. With just 1,400 cases needed to cross the margin, Pennsylvania will likely see itself become the ninth state to reach that mark, by CDC count. Keystone state reached 300,000 cases on November 21, taking just 24 days to go from 200,000 to 300,000 cases. But assuming tomorrow brings at least 1,400 new cases, 300,000 to 400,000 will only have taken two weeks.
Perhaps more shocking is that, over four days, the total number of cases in December is 37,136, which is already more than each of the monthly totals for May, June, July, August and September.
A “ worrying ” state
Each week, the health department updates its online “early warning surveillance system” and identifies counties with what the state has called a “worrying” percentage of positive cases over the past week, above the 5% threshold recommended by the World Health Organization. This measure takes into account decisions to reopen schools.
(The state calculates the percent positivity based on the total number of tests, including duplicates. This method places Pennsylvania’s percent positivity at 14.4% over the past week. Another method, used by lehighvalleylive.com and Johns Hopkins University, calculates percent positivity based on people tested, eliminate duplicate testing – this method shows statewide positivity at 33.6% over the past seven days.)
This week, every county in the state has a “worrying” percentage of positive cases. The lowest positivity rate among the 67 counties is Sullivan County with a rate of 6%. Mifflin County (29.7%), Potter County (28.9%) and Bedford County (28.4%) have the highest positivity rates.
Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley broke its previous record of 534 new cases in one day, which was set on November 28 and tied on Wednesday. The region saw an increase of 888 new cases between County Lehigh and County Northampton on Friday. The two counties also set their own respective records for one-day increases in cases: County Lehigh reported 484 new cases and County Northampton reported 404.
Lehigh Valley’s total number of cases now stands at 22,590. And with six new deaths as well – three in each county – its death toll is 738.
(Can’t see the graph? Click here.)
Here’s how Pennsylvania’s neighboring Lehigh Valley counties are doing with the coronavirus, based on state data:
- Berks County has 15,136 total cases and 470 deaths, with 326 new cases and three new deaths reported on the last day.
- Bucks County has 19,654 total cases and 716 deaths, with 729 new cases and five new deaths reported on the last day.
- Carbon County has 1,550 total cases and 57 deaths, with 92 new cases and no new deaths reported on the last day.
- Monroe County has a total of 3,802 cases and 158 deaths, with 139 new cases and three new deaths reported on the last day.
- Montgomery County has 23,916 total cases and 955 deaths, with 609 new cases and one new death reported on the last day.
- Schuylkill County has 4,487 total cases and 189 deaths, with 142 new cases and five new deaths reported on the last day.
(Can’t see the graph? Click here.)
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Connor Lagore can be reached at [email protected].
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