For the fourth straight day, Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 case report reduces the seven-day case average — something that hasn’t happened since early March.
It’s a hopeful sign, considering that from March 9, when the most recent covid-case surge began, through April 18, the state managed to lower its seven-day case average just eight times.
Both deaths and hospitalization numbers also declined slightly with Thursday’s data.
Cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Thursday there were 4,192 new cases of coronavirus in the state — a decline of 17% from last week’s number. Since Monday, the state is averaging 3,821 cases per day, which is 25% below this point last week (5,129). Last week’s numbers include April 14, when a Pittsburgh-area lab reported three months worth of test results at one time.
The state’s seven-day case average dropped to 4,259, with 29,810 cases in the past week. It’s the first time the state has seen fewer than 30,000 cases in a seven-day period since April 7.
Of the state’s latest cases, 3,360 were confirmed through PCR testing, and 832 were listed as probable. Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.
The Allegheny County Health Department reported 299 new cases — the fifth straight day of lowering its seven-day case average, which now stands at 336. The county’s seven-day case total is at 2,352, the lowest it’s been since March 25.
Of Allegheny’s latest cases, 227 have been confirmed through PCR tests, while 72 are listed as probable. New cases ranged in age from 3 months to 93 years, with a median age of 28 years.
Of the new cases — 151 females, 148 males — the age breakdown in Allegheny County was:
- Ages 0-4: 9
- Ages 5-12: 26
- Ages 13-18: 40
- Ages 19-24: 55
- Ages 25-49: 90
- Ages 50-64: 53
- Ages 65 and over: 26
In Westmoreland County, health officials posted 94 new cases, with 51 confirmed and 43 listed as probable. Westmoreland’s seven-day case average drops — for a sixth straight day — to 110, bringing the county back to where it was on April 1. The county has recorded 771 covid cases in the past seven days.
Among all Pennsylvania counties, Philadelphia saw the highest number of new cases reported Thursday, with 715. It was followed by Allegheny (299), Lancaster (238), Bucks (212) and Berks (211). All other counties posted new case counts below 200.
Total case numbers and new case reports among other Western Pennsylvania counties:
- Beaver 14,401 (+66)
- Fayette 12,159 (+35)
- Butler 16,421 (+34)
- Washington 16,524 (+34)
- Somerset 7,366 (+32)
- Armstrong 5,588 (+21)
- Lawrence 7,119 (+18)
- Indiana 5,798 (+15)
Since the pandemic began, Pennsylvania has recorded 1,122,662 coronavirus cases, with 947,323 having been confirmed through PCR testing. Allegheny County has recorded 95,140 cases, with 72,384 confirmed. Westmoreland County has recorded 31,924 cases, with 21,719 confirmed.
Deaths
Health officials reported another 52 covid-related deaths in Pennsylvania, bringing the seven-day death toll to 313. It’s the second straight day the number of newly reported deaths has declined. Since the pandemic began, a total of 25,879 Pennsylvanians have been lost to the virus.
Among the state’s newly reported deaths, 49 occurred in April, two in March and one from February. With today’s report, the state has surpassed 8,000 deaths in 2021 (8,024). In 2020, there were 17,855 covid-related deaths in Pennsylvania.
Allegheny County health officials reported one new death — a person in their 80s. To date, Allegheny County has logged 1,850 covid-related deaths.
The state reported one additional death in Westmoreland County, bringing the total there to 732. The seven-day death total in Westmoreland (13) remains higher than its been since Feb. 24.
Hospitalizations
After several days of increasing hospitalization numbers, the state recorded a drop Thursday. Currently, there are 2,808 Pennsylvanians in the hospital with covid-19 — a decline of 34. The state’s hospitalization number is still up 733 for the month of April. Of those hospitalized, 571 are in intensive care units and 281 on a ventilator.
Allegheny and Westmoreland counties also saw declines in their hospital numbers. In Allegheny, 283 are in care (down from 290 on Wednesday), with 91 in ICUs and 41 on ventilators. In Westmoreland, there are 52 hospitalized (down from 60 on Wednesday), with 13 in ICUs and nine on a ventilator.
Vaccinations
According to the latest numbers posted, in Pennsylvania, at least 2,969,315 people — 23.4% of the state’s total population — have received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna covid vaccine or the single-dose shot of Johnson & Johnson (before it was halted). There are at least 4,873,194 (38.4%) people who have at least one dose of a covid vaccine. The numbers do not include those vaccinated in the city of Philadelphia, which tracks its own vaccination numbers but has yet to update as of publication time Thursday.
In Allegheny County, there are 348,527 (28.5%) with fully vaccination status and 573,596 (46.9%) with at least one dose.
In Westmoreland County, 91,547 (25.1%) are fully vaccinated, with 140,434 (38.5%) having received at least one shot.
According to the CDC, Pennsylvania ranks 23rd among all states in terms of percentage of the vaccine doses it has distributed from the amount it has been given. To date, 11,156,275 doses have been distributed to the state, with 8,871,360 having been administered — good for 79.52% distribution.
Chris Pastrick is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, cpastrick@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Allegheny | Coronavirus | Local | Pennsylvania | Top Stories | Westmoreland
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