Penn-Trafford, Jeannette region sees 44 new covid cases

The Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area had 44 confirmed new covid cases in the last week, continuing a downward trend after the holiday surge, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Since the pandemic began in March, the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities have seen a total of 1,593 confirmed cases as of Jan. 26, up from 1,549 on Jan. 19.

Residents of these six ZIP codes have taken a total of 8,833 coronavirus tests, 18% of which were positive. Since Jan. 19, 192 tests were administered, 22.9% of which were positive.

The breakdown of cases by ZIP code is:

• Jeannette, ZIP code 15644: 854 confirmed cases, 402 probable cases, 4074 negative test results.
• Trafford, ZIP code 15085: 380 confirmed cases, 135 probable cases, 1,651 negative test results
• Harrison City: ZIP code 15636, 201 confirmed cases, 87 probable cases, 804 negative test results
• Manor, ZIP code 15665: 86 confirmed cases, 46 probable cases, 298 negative test results
• Penn Borough, ZIP code 15675: 37 confirmed cases, 29 probable cases, 204 negative test results
• Claridge, ZIP code 15623: 35 confirmed cases, 8 probable cases, 209 negative test results

A significant portion of Penn Township is grouped under the Irwin 15642 ZIP code. That ZIP code has seen a total of 2,398 confirmed cases, up 86 from the week prior.

Penn-Trafford School District has reported a total of 117 covid cases since the school year began. Four of those cases were considered “active” — meaning reported within the past two weeks — as of Sunday. They include one student and one staff member at Pen Trafford High School, a student at Penn Middle School and a staff member at Trafford Elementary School.

Westmoreland County has had a total of 17,535 confirmed cases, 6,592 probable cases, 576 covid deaths and 80,149 negative tests since the start of the pandemic.

A large spike in cases in the county began in September and peaked Dec. 10 with 747 positive cases in a single day. Case counts have been declining steadily, but remain well above pre-September levels.