Pennsylvania hits 650,000 coronavirus cases, adds 261 deaths

Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 16,967 new coronavirus cases over the past 48 hours, as the Keystone State hurtled over the 650,000-case mark.

Officials said 7,714 additional cases were reported New Year’s Day, while 9,253 were reported Saturday.

The new data bring the total cases to 657,292.

That’s a jump of about 52,150 cases from this time last week.

Officials said around 68,000 of the total cases are 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.

The state also reported 261 new deaths — 236 reported on New Year’s and 25 on Saturday.

The total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania is 16,239 — just over 1,750 more fatalities than last week (14,483).

Health officials say there are 5,624 patients currently hospitalized in the state, representing 301 fewer patients than at this time last week.

However, officials say this number is nearly double the amount of covid patients in the hospital during the spring. They also noted that the 14-day moving average is nearly 5,600 more than the end of September.

Of the new number, 1,172 patients are in an intensive care unit — 24 fewer than at this time last week. These numbers show 1 of 5, or 20%, of hospitalized patients are in an ICU.

Officials say positivity rate in the state during the past week is 15% — nearly a percentage point down from last week.

More than 3.29 million people in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus out of a total of about 3.94 million people in the state who have been tested.

The overall positivity rate is just below 15%.

According to the state Health Department, the most severe cases are seen in patients over the age of 65. This group accounts for the largest age demographic for hospitalizations and deaths.

In nursing and personal care homes, there have been 54,151 cases in residents and 9,812 in employees.

There have been 9,004 deaths at nursing and personal care homes. These deaths account for about 55% of the state’s total. About 1,476 nursing facilities have been affected by the virus.

Of the total coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, 19,400 stem from health care workers.

State officials said 128,00 of covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the state — most of which have been distributed to health care workers and first responders.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 10 enacted new restrictions throughout the commonwealth affecting indoor dining, school sports and exercising in gymnasiums. Those restrictions are set to expire on Monday.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine urges people to continue to exercise caution when in public — mainly by maintaining social distance and wearing masks.

Mask-wearing is required in all businesses in the state, an action that health officials say is critical preventing the spread of the virus.