Allegheny County adds 498 covid cases, highest total since mid-January

Allegheny County on Wednesday added its most coronavirus cases since mid-January.

The Allegheny County Health Department reported 498 additional cases, the highest since 516 were reported Jan. 17. It was also only the third time since the beginning of February that the county has surpassed 400 cases.

Allegheny County had the most new cases reported in the state with 498, followed by Philadelphia (486), Bucks (331), Montgomery (277) and Berks (276).

Of Allegheny County’s cases, 350 are confirmed and 148 are probable. New cases ranged from 1 month to 96 years old, with a median age of 32. The county’s total rose to 82,942 cases, the second highest in the state behind Philadelphia (121,313).

Pennsylvania also added its most new coronavirus cases since early February.

The state Department of Health reported 4,667 covid cases, the most since 4,717 on Feb. 7. Those new cases bring the state’s total to 996,617, with the grim milestone of 1 million cases likely to be reached Thursday if the trend continues.

Westmoreland County saw 103 additional covid cases, with 46 confirmed and 57 probable, with the county’s case total rising to 28,429.

Washington County added 86 cases and Butler 74, their highest totals in more than a month and a half.

Deaths

The state Department of Health added 48 deaths as the state’s total rose to 24,876.

Of those deaths newly reported Wednesday, 43 are from March, two are from February, two are from January and one is from December.

The Allegheny Health Department added 10 deaths to bring its total to 1,750, with the jump attributed to an import of data from the state’s Electronic Death Reporting System. Those deaths range from March 3-18, with three associated with long-term care facilities. One person was in their 30s, one in their 40s, one in their 60s, one in their 70s, three in their 80s and three in their 90s.

The state’s total for Allegheny County rose to 1,790, with seven deaths added on Wednesday, all from March. The discrepancy between the two departments has been attributed to different reporting methods.

Washington County added two deaths, while Armstrong, Beaver and Somerset added one apiece. Westmoreland, Butler, Fayette and Indiana had no new deaths reported.

Almost 52% of the state’s deaths are associated with nursing homes and personal care homes, with 12,889 as of Wednesday. Montgomery has been hit the hardest, with 1,077 deaths in those homes. Allegheny is second at 996, while three others in the region sit above 200: Westmoreland (290), Butler (272) and Beaver (218).

Vaccinations

Pennsylvania drew even closer to 2 million people being fully vaccinated, according to state data. State health department data shows 1,592,188 people fully vaccinated, and Philadelphia Department of Public Health data shows another 183,918 fully vaccinated there.

Almost 15% of Allegheny County is fully vaccinated (181,670), with another 190,966 partially vaccinated. Westmoreland County is at 12.74% fully vaccinated (46,530), and 48,713 with partial vaccinations.

Hospitalizations

Covid-19 hospitalizations in the state climbed again, reaching its highest number in more than three weeks. The state added 21 more hospitalizations to climb to 1,652, with 351 covid patients in the ICU and 36 on ventilators. It’s the highest hospitalization total since 1,670 on March 2.

Allegheny County, meanwhile, saw a drop of 16 from 177 on Tuesday to 161 on Wednesday. There are 36 covid patients in the ICU with 21 requiring ventilators.

In Westmoreland County, 25 covid patients are hospitalized with three in the ICU and two on ventilators. The state has yet to explain its data error that saw hospitalizations in the county suddenly drop from 117 on March 17 to 26 on March 18.