Allegheny County adds 179 new covid cases over past 2 days

On Monday, the Allegheny County Health Department announced it found 179 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days.

The breakdown — 97 cases on Sunday, 82 on Monday — were from 2,320 PCR tests conducted from Oct. 4-11. Of those new cases, 156 were confirmed, 23 probable.

The positivity rate of the new two-day batch of tests was 7.7%.

The county said the new cases come from patients aged 5 months to 89 years old, with the median age being 34. The gender breakdown was 84 female cases, 95 male cases.

There were no new deaths announced, leaving the total of covid-related deaths in the county at 397.

The age breakdown of the new cases is:

• Ages 0-4: 5

• Ages 5-12: 11

• Ages 13-18: 13

• Ages 19-24: 21

• Ages 25-49: 66

• Ages 50-64; 34

• Ages 65 and over: 29

According to the state’s covid-19 tracking website, there are 80 county residents currently hospitalized with the virus, 12 of them on ventilators. According to the state, there are 814 operational ventilators in the county, with 189 (23.2%) currently in use for all illnesses. To date, 1,286 residents have been hospitalized for the virus, with five new hospitalizations announced by the county Monday.

The county’s website is reporting outcomes in 9,972 cases — with 9,575 assumed to be recovered and 397 deaths. The current recovery rate for those whose case has an outcome is just over 96%. Out of the county’s 13,362 total covid-19 cases, there remain 3,390 cases without an assumed outcome.

Individuals are considered to be “recovered” based on one of two conditions: It’s been 32 days since the person was hospitalized for covid-19 and not deceased; or, if they were not hospitalized, 14 days since they tested positive.

Officials continue to report no new cases at the Allegheny County Jail, and no inmates with covid in the facility. To date, 552 inmates have been tested, with 38 of them testing positive — all of whom have either recovered or been released. The county is waiting on test results from 13 inmates. Among the jail’s employees, the county reports a total of 15 positive cases, with all but one recovered. A total of 128 employees have been tested, with 112 negative and one test pending results.

Since the pandemic began in March, 13,362 county residents have been tested for the virus, with 179,564 reported negative — meaning 93% of those tested have been negative.