Westmoreland County posts 218 new coronavirus cases, 4 deaths

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 218 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County.

Four additional deaths were reported, increasing the death toll to 162.

Of the new covid-19 cases, 141 are confirmed and 77 are probable.

Saturday’s addition puts the seven-day average at a record-high 200 cases; the county reported 189 cases on Friday. The high of the week was on Thursday when 259 cases were posted.

There have been a record-high 29 deaths reported this week, with a high of eight fatalities reported Friday. The total for thus far in November is 59 .

There were 15 deaths reported in each of the past two weeks; 20 were reported three weeks ago.

The county’s total cases are now at 7,315.

The recent positives come from a batch of 466 tests, yielding a positivity rate of a whopping 30.3%.

The county has averaged about 593 tests per day this week.

Thirteen days this month have reported triple-digit case counts; four have been over 200 — today, Thursday, Wednesday and Nov. 12.

In October, there were four days of triple-digit cases, including a high of 148 cases posted Oct. 15.