Pennsylvania logs 4,000 more covid cases, 113 deaths

Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 4,088 new coronavirus cases, a slight increase, as hospitalizations continue to decrease in the Keystone State.

The new data bring the total cases to 892,344.

That’s a jump of almost 27,000 additional cases from this time last week. Two weeks ago, the increase was about 26,000.

Officials said nearly 121,000 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 113 new deaths.

The total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania is 23,072 — nearly 700 more fatalities than last week (22,396). Three weeks ago, the change was more than double that, at 1,600.

Health officials say there are 2,548 patients hospitalized in the state, representing 493 fewer patients than at this time last week.

However, officials noted that the 14-day average is nearly 2,600 more than the end of September.

Of the new number, 496 patients are in an intensive care unit — 148 fewer than at this time last week. These numbers show 1 of 5, or about 19%, of hospitalized patients are in an ICU.

There are currently 271 patients on ventilators, down 67 from last week.

Officials say positivity rate in the state during the past week is 8%, down more than a percentage point from the previous week.

Out of the new cases reported Saturday, 306 — or 7.5% — are from Allegheny County. Philadelphia reported an increase of 409, accounting for 10% of cases.

West­moreland County reported 98, which amounted to 2.4% of the state’s new cases.

Nearly 3.7 million people in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus out of the more than 4.65 million people in the state who have been tested.

The overall positivity rate is around 16.5%.

State officials said 1.5 million doses of covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the state as of Friday.

Officials said of the total vaccinations, nearly 1.2 million people have received the first dose out of the two-shot vaccine, which makes them partially covered. And 378,000 people have received both doses.

They noted that this total include vaccines administered through CVS and Walgreens as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership. However, these numbers neither include records from Philadelphia, which is its own jurisdiction, nor do they include vaccines administered at federal facilities which are working directly with the federal government.

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 65,387 cases in residents and 12,680 in employees.

There have been 12,000 deaths at nursing and personal care homes. These deaths account for about 52% of the state’s total. About 1,555 nursing facilities have been affected by the virus.

Of the total coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, 24,157 stem from health care workers.

Pennsylvania health officials urge 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 — even if the person is fully vaccinated. Officials say face coverings are critical preventing the spread of the virus.