Pennsylvania passes 1 million covid cases

Pennsylvania passed 1 million covid cases on Thursday. The milestone comes as vaccinations continue amid rising cases statewide and stable cases closer to home in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,000,240 cases, a rise of 3,623 cases from Wednesday. The seven-day average of cases is 23,393, a 26.6% percent change from last Thursday.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, covid cases have steadily climbed. The state hit 100,000 cases on July 18, 2020; 500,000 cases on Dec. 15, 2020; and 900,000 cases on Feb. 17.

According to state and county data, more than 3.5 million people (28.2% of residents) have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine and more than 1.8 million have been fully vaccinated (14.3% of residents).

Those numbers include both data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Philadelphia’s Department of Health, which keep separate records when it comes to vaccinations in the state.

The number of residents who are hospitalized for the virus is 1,717, up 65 from Wednesday, according to state data.

The state health department added 41 deaths to its total on Thursday, with the total growing to 24,917. Of these newly reported deaths, 39 are from March, one is from February and one is from November.

Allegheny County

Allegheny County on Thursday reported 283 additional coronavirus cases (234 confirmed) and no new coronavirus deaths. This is down from Wednesday when the county reported 498 cases, which was the highest reported since Jan. 17. There have been 83,225 cases reported in the county.

While the cases remain relatively stable, the county attributed the new cases to more frequent and larger gatherings, coupled with increasing prevalence of more transmissible variants.

“From our case investigations, we hear that people are gathering with friends in larger groups than even a few weeks ago,” Dr. Debra Bogen, Allegheny County health director, said Wednesday. “And many of the gatherings are without masks. There are large groups at many different establishments and less physical distancing than is recommended.”

The new coronavirus cases range in age from 2 years to 86 years with a median age of 35 years. The age groups of the newly reported cases — 128 male and 155 female — are:

• Ages 0-4: 8
• Ages 5-12: 21
• Ages 13-18: 23
• Ages 19-24: 41
• Ages 25-49: 124
• Ages 50-64: 52
• Ages 65+: 14

The additional coronavirus cases brings the county’s total to 80,941 since the start of the pandemic last year.

The state reported that 381,039 of county residents (31.1% of residents) had received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 186,072 individuals are fully covered (15.2% of residents).

The number of the deaths in Allegheny County because of covid-19 stands at 1,750.

According to the state’s data, 167 Allegheny County residents are hospitalized for covid (up six from Wednesday), 37 of them are in intensive care units and 20 of them are on ventilator.

Also on Wednesday Allegheny County officials announced that they will launch a new vaccine registration system next week.

The system will reduce the number of canceled appointments at vaccination sites and will allow one-time use links for specific clinics targeted at particular populations.

Westmoreland County

In Westmoreland County on Thursday there were 65 additional covid cases and two new deaths reported.

With the 65 additional covid cases (56 confirmed, nine probable), the total number of cases in Westmoreland County stands at 28,494 (19,860 confirmed, 8,634 probable) since the first cases were reported last year.

The additional covid-related deaths reported brings the total number of covid deaths in the county to 701.

In Westmoreland County, 24 covid patients are hospitalized with two 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.

The state reported that 98,128 of Westmoreland County residents (26.8% of residents) had received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 47,951 individuals are fully covered (12.1% of residents).