Westmoreland County coronavirus rate five times higher than 'substantial' threshold

Westmoreland County’s coronavirus incidence rate — a statistic that tracks the spread of the virus through the population — has more than tripled in the last month.

It was 516.5 for the most recently measured 7-day period, which ended Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health data.

That’s down slightly from the rate of 531.9 measured the previous week, but it’s still more than five times higher than the threshold of 100 that marks the “substantial” risk category — the highest in the state’s Early Warning Monitoring System.

An incidence rate of 516.5 means about about 0.5165% of county residents contracted the virus during the measured 7-day period.

Westmoreland County is not alone. Every Pennsylvania county has an incidence rate well above the “substantial” line. The lowest is Susquehanna County with an incidence rate of 170. The highest is Montour County, with an incidence rate of 849.8.

Allegheny County’s incidence rate is 396.8, down a bit from 425.5 the week before.

Westmoreland County’s incidence rate jumped past 100 in late October and continued to skyrocket the following months.

Though cases took a slight dip this week, state leaders say Pennsylvanians still need to be cautious — especially as Christmas approaches.

“A decrease in percent positivity this week shows that we must continue to stay the course as we prevent the spread of this virus,” Gov. Wolf said in a statement. “As we approach a number of holidays, we need to put Pennsylvania on pause.”

Wolf shut down gyms, school sports and indoor dining in restaurants Dec. 12. The restrictions are set to end Jan. 4.

State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the worst could be yet to come for hospitals.

“We know that hospitalizations and deaths often lag after our case increases,” she said in a statement. “Our hospitals are taxed and many locations have very few ICU beds available.”