Covid cases, hospitalizations continue to drop in Pennsylvania and Allegheny, Westmoreland counties

Covid cases and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania and Allegheny and Westmoreland counties have continued to drop in recent days, as the number of people vaccinated slowly rises.

Cases

The Allegheny County Health Department reported 42 additional cases — 35 confirmed and seven probable — on Wednesday, with the county’s total reaching 101,378.

This is the 12th consecutive day of reported cases under 100 in the county. The seven-day average of cases has fallen to 46, which hasn’t been this low since June 27, 2020.

The new coronavirus cases in Allegheny County — 20 male and 22 female — range in age from 2 to 77 years old, with a median age of 35.

Westmoreland County saw an additional 21 cases — 12 confirmed and nine probable. The county’s overall total stands at 34,150. The seven-day average of cases in the county was 18, the lowest its been since Sept. 30.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 580 additional cases. The seven-day average of cases was 693, a 42.9% drop from last Wednesday, and lowest it has been since Sept. 1. The total number of cases in the state stands at 1,203,443.

To put the 580 new cases number in perspective, two months ago on April 2, statewide there were 4,656 new cases reported and last month on May 2 there were 2,653 cases. Wednesday’s number is a 85.5% decrease from April 2 and 78.1% decrease from May 2.

Hospitalizations

The number of residents hospitalized statewide for the virus is 929, down 60 from Tuesday, according to state data, with 229 covid patients in intensive care units and 143 on ventilators.

Hospitalizations in the state have gone down for the past 10 days. It’s the lowest number of people hospitalized for covid statewide since Oct. 20, when 918 were hospitalized.

According to the state’s data, 107 Allegheny County residents are hospitalized for covid (down two from Tuesday), 35 of them in ICUs and 16 of them on a ventilator.

Hospitalizations in the county have been trending downward since last month — there were 200 people hospitalizations on May 1 and the number has fallen nearly each day.

In Westmoreland County, 14 covid patients (down one from Tuesday) are hospitalized with five in ICUs and four on a ventilator. The number of people in the county hospitalized for covid has been under 20 for the past six days.

Vaccinations

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 5.5 million adults — those 18 and older — who are considered fully vaccinated. That’s 54.4% of the adult population.

Also 7.2 million (71.2%) adults in the state — again, those 18 and older — have received at least one shot. According to state officials Pennsylvania is one of only ten states to reach the 70% mark for first doses.

Officials had said that the state’s mask mandate could be lifted when 70% of the state’s adults are fully vaccinated. Last week, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the mask mandate would be lifted no later than June 28.

The CDC also reported that 43.7% of all Pennsylvanians (5.5 million) are considered fully vaccinated and 58.5% (7.4 million) have at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

In Allegheny County 747,970 residents (61.1%) have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 549,210 individuals are fully covered (44.8%).

In Westmoreland County, the state reported that 171,618 of county residents (47%) had received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 136,887 individuals are fully covered (37.4%).

Deaths

After adding no covid-related deaths on Tuesday and 27 over the holiday weekend, the state health department on Wednesday reported 45 additional deaths. The state’s total stands at 27,259.

The Allegheny County Health Department on Wednesday reported eight new deaths, which included two from December and six from May. The county said that the deaths were one person was in their 40s, one in their 50s, one in their 60s, two in their 80s and three in their 90s. Three of those deaths were associated with a long-term care facility.

Allegheny County’s death total stands at 1,953, according to the county. The state health department has a total of 1,984 deaths in Allegheny County. No reason has been given for the discrepancy between the two health departments.

Westmoreland County saw three additional covid-related deaths, bringing the total number of covid deaths in the county 769. These were the first deaths reported since last Thursday.