Allegheny County reports 1 additional covid death as signs of virus leveling off continue

Allegheny County on Thursday reported one additional death attributed to the coronavirus — a day after reporting nearly three dozen.

Meanwhile, the number of newly reported coronavirus cases in the county mostly held steady.

The county added 313 covid-19 cases to its tally, according to the latest data available from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county’s death toll ticked up to 1,496, the county’s health department reported. The death was from Jan. 30 and was associated with a long-term care facility, the county said.

The state reported an additional 13 covid deaths in the county for a total of 1,568. The state’s and county’s death totals have differed throughout the pandemic because of different reporting methods.

According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, 300 people in the county are currently hospitalized with the virus, with 82 in an intensive care unit and 37 requiring the use of a ventilator.

There are currently 531 adult ICU beds in use in the county, with 84 available. The county has 1,186 total ventilators, with 292 in use by patients suffering any ailment, according to the state health department.

Of the newly reported cases, 208 are confirmed from 1,20 standard covid PCR tests conducted from Jan. 20 to Wednesday. Eight new positive tests are more than a week old. There are 105 probable cases, the county reported.

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 new cases range in age from 1 year old to 96 years old, with a median age of 42. The age groups of the newly reported cases — 158 male and 155 female — are:

• 0-4: 5

• 5-12: 13

• 13-18: 23

• 19-24: 29

• 25-49: 110

• 50-64: 66

• 65 and older: 67

Since March, when the coronavirus was first reported in Western Pennsylvania, there have been 70,478 covid cases in Allegheny County, 4,575 hospitalizations there and 1,496 deaths in the county.