Westmoreland County posts 61 more coronavirus cases

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 61 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, as the area continues to stay below triple digit case counts.

The county last saw a triple-digit count Feb. 3, and 18 of the 31 days since then have remained below 75 new cases.

Westmoreland County’s total cases are at 27,150, which is an increase of 408 from the preceding week’s 26,742. The week before had an increase of 467 cases; two weeks ago it was 509; three weeks ago it was about 560; four weeks ago, the change was 540.

It was 700 dating back to the end of January.

Friday’s cases represent a high for the week with 95. A low of 25 cases were reported Sunday.

The seven-day average is 58, compared to last week’s 67.

No deaths were reported Saturday, keeping the toll at 680. That’s seven more than there were the preceding week. Seven deaths were reported two weeks ago; seven were reported three weeks ago; and 14 were reported four weeks ago, while 31 were reported five weeks ago.

Three fatalities were reported Wednesday, a high for the week. Two deaths were reported on each of the following days: Sunday, Thursday and Friday. One death was reported Tuesday, while no deaths were reported Monday.

Six days into March, eight deaths have been recorded. In February, the total was 67; January recorded 178.

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 immediately clear how many cases were confirmed, nor was the information immediately available about how many tests were involved in the report. A probable case is defined 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 covid-19.

There are 119 covid-19 patients as of Saturday in hospitals in the county — five more than this time last week. Of that total, three are in intensive care, two of whom are on ventilators.