Pennsylvania posts nearly 10,000 new coronavirus cases; 217 deaths

Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 9,834 new coronavirus cases, as the Keystone State gets nearer to accumulating 550,000 cases.

The new data bring the total cases to 548,489.

That’s a jump of more than 67,000 cases from this time last week (481,118).

Officials said 50,157 of 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 217 new deaths.

The total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania is 13,825 — nearly 1,400 more fatalities than last week (12,436).

Of the newly reported deaths, 209 are from December and eight are from November. The new numbers bring December’s actual total to 2,383 deaths in the month.

Health officials say there are 6,147 patients currently hospitalized in the state.

Out of that number, 1,232 patients are in an intensive care unit — 81 more than 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 16.2% — the same as last week.

Out of the new cases, 1,015 — or 10.3% — are from Allegheny County. Philadelphia reported an increase of 827, accounting for 8.4% of cases.

West­moreland County reported 410 cases Saturday, which amounted to 4.2% of the state’s cases.

More than 3.13 million people in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus out of a total of about 3.68 million people in the state who have been tested.

The overall positivity rate is about 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 47,189 cases in residents and 8,616 in employees.

There have been 8,065 deaths at nursing and personal care homes. These deaths account for about 58% of the state’s total. About 1,428 nursing facilities have been affected by the virus.

Of the total coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, 17,656 stem from health care workers.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 10 enacted new restrictions throughout the commonwealth affecting indoor dining, school sports and exercising in gymnasiums.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health 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.

She also recommends cleaning surfaces thoroughly and often, and suggests that coughs and sneezes are covered with the inside of the elbows instead of the hands.

Speaking of hands, it is strongly suggested that people wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t available.