Pennsylvania reports 7,166 coronavirus cases, 231 deaths

Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 7,166 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts are trending down in the Keystone State.

The new data bring the total cases to 761,777.

That’s a jump of nearly 48,500 cases from this time last week. The week before, the weekly increase was 56,000.

Officials said nearly 90,000 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 231 new deaths.

The total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania is 19,188 — just over 1,500 more fatalities than last week (17,667).

Health officials say there are 4,848 patients hospitalized in the state, representing 470 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 average is nearly 4,800 more than the end of September.

Of the new number, 1,010 patients are in an intensive care unit — 82 fewer than at this time last week and 162 fewer than two weeks ago. These numbers show 1 of 5, or 20%, of hospitalized patients are in an ICU.

There are currently 594 patients on ventilators.

Officials say positivity rate in the state during the past week is 14.4%.

Out of the new cases reported Saturday, 526 — or 7.3% — are from Allegheny County. Philadelphia reported an increase of 644, accounting for 8.9% of cases.

West­moreland County reported 173, which amounted to 2.4% of the state’s new cases.

More than 3.45 million people in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus out of a total of about 4.2 million people in the state who have been tested.

The overall positivity rate is around 16%.

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 59,243 cases in residents and 11,157 in employees.

There have been 9,985 deaths at nursing and personal care homes. These deaths account for about 52% of the state’s total. About 1,513 nursing facilities have been affected by the virus.

Of the total coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, 21,475 stem from health care workers.

State officials said 427,713 of covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the state through Friday — most of which have been distributed to health care workers and first responders.

Officials said of that total, 307,915 people have received the first dose out of the two-shot vaccine, which makes them partially covered. And, 59,899 people have received both doses.

They noted that this total does not include vaccines administered through CVS as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership, meaning the total of those who have received vaccines in the state is presumed to be higher.

PA:

Gov. Tom Wolf on Dec. 10 enacted new restrictions throughout the commonwealth affecting indoor dining, school sports and exercising in gymnasiums. Those restrictions expired on Jan. 4.

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.