Allegheny County reports 31 new covid-19 cases, total reaches 356

Allegheny County reported 31 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the countywide total to 356.

Of that total, two Allegheny County residents have died from complications from covid-19, and 61 have required hospitalization.

Thousands of Allegheny County residents have been tested for covid-19 in recent weeks, Dr. LuAnn Brink, chief epidemiologist for the Allegheny County Health Department, said during a press briefing Tuesday.

Over the past week, about 500 people have been tested per day, a significant increase over the 1,614 tests reported to have been performed on Allegheny County residents as of Thursday, Brink said.

The department is working to make more demographic information about cases in Allegheny County available to the public, and that information is expected to be available within a week, Brink said.

The City of Pittsburgh continues to report the most cases in the county, with 112, according to a heat map showing cases throughout the county last updated by officials Tuesday.

That map does not include a breakdown of cases by city neighborhood or ZIP code.

Among other municipalities, the map showed McCandless had at least 17 cases and Mt. Lebanon had nine.

When asked whether some municipalities — particularly those along river valley corridors — are reporting fewer cases of the coronavirus due to a lack of testing or inequitable access to testing, health department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said the department is monitoring that issue closely.

“At this point, we’re not aware of a lack of testing in any particular neighborhood,” Bogen said.

Of the 356 cases reported Wednesday, 146 — or 41% — were found in people ages 25 to 49.

Most of the county’s 61 hospitalizations have been among older adults, officials said.

The cases are split evenly between genders: 182 females and 174 males.

Here is a breakdown of cases in Allegheny County.

More than 48,000 people across Pennsylvania have been tested for covid-19, according to figures released Tuesday by the state health department.

Of that total, 5,805 people have tested positive and 74 people, including the two in Allegheny County, have died from complications from covid-19.

While at least 40% of infections statewide are occurring in people between the ages of 25 and 49, the most hospitalizations — at least 51% — are occurring among people over the age of 65.

Cases in Allegheny County match those trends.