Allegheny County adds most newly reported covid cases in over 2 weeks

Allegheny County on Tuesday reported 405 additional covid-19 cases, the most cases reported in a day in about two weeks.

Tuesday’s reported cases were the most since Jan. 23, when 464 covid cases were added.

Dates of positive tests range from Nov. 19 to Feb. 8. The county Health Department said 13 positive tests were more than a week old, including four from November and December. No reason was given for the delay of those test results.

New cases range in age from 10 months to 99 years, with a median age of 40. Of the newly reported cases, 215 are confirmed and 190 are 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.

Total cases in Allegheny County now stand at 71,938, with 2,570 cases being reported so far in February.

As of Tuesday, there are 276 covid-19 patients hospitalized in the county, up from 261 on Monday and 252 on Sunday. The number of hospitalizations decreased or remained the same the first week of February, going from 313 on Feb. 1 to 252 on Sunday.

Two additional covid-related deaths were reported Tuesday, bringing the death total to 1,529. One person who died was in their 80s and one was in their 90s. Both deaths were tied to long-term care facilities. Dates of death were Feb. 2 and Feb. 5. There have been 76 covid deaths reported in February thus far.