Westmoreland County closes in on 20,000 covid cases, adds 6 deaths

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 473 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County during the past 48 hours, as cases continue to dip in the area.

The numbers represent 118 new cases reported New Year’s Day and 355 on Saturday.

The county’s total cases are at 19,806, a nearly 1,700-case increase from the preceding week’s 18,131.

On Tuesday, a weekly high of 466 cases were reported, while a low of 91 were reported Monday. That was the first day the county dipped below the century mark since Nov. 9.

Six deaths were also reported — five were reported on New Year’s, while one was reported Saturday —increasing the death toll to 429. That’s 49 more than there were the preceding week.

Fifteen fatalities were reported Wednesday, marking the daily high of reported covid-related deaths since the virus first was reported in Pennsylvania in March. On Thursday, 14 deaths were reported.

In December, 224 deaths were reported. Westmoreland County didn’t reach that number from the time the virus was first reported there in March until Dec. 4.

It wasn’t clear how many of the new covid cases were confirmed and how many were considered probable.

Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have corona­virus.