Allegheny County announces 100 new covid-19 cases, 3 new deaths

There were 100 new cases of covid-19 announced by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday.

Continuing to drop, the county’s seven-day average of newly revealed cases stands at 109. The county hasn’t seen a double-digit seven-day average since July 1.

The new cases — all but one of which are confirmed — come from 1,574 tests conducted from July 10-Aug. 5. The positives range from ages 8 months to 101, with a median age of 42.

The department said it received news of three new deaths and 11 new hospitalizations, bringing total deaths to 251 and past and present hospitalizations to 713.

The newly reported deaths — which happened from July 30 through Aug. 5 — include one person in the 50-64 age group and two in the 65+ age group.

There are 148 people currently hospitalized for covid-19 in Allegheny County, according to the state’s covid-19 dashboard — 34 of them on ventilators.

On Thursday, Port Authority of Allegheny County spokesman Jim Ritchie said five more of its employees have tested positive for covid-19. Those cases bring the number of cases involving Port Authority employees to 37.

The county health department’s website registers outcomes in 5,762 cases so far — 5,511 are assumed to be recovered and 251 have died. In cases with an outcome, the recovery rate is nearly 96%. Out of of the county’s total of 8,612 covid-19 cases, there are 2,850 cases without an assumed outcome.

On its website, the county says, “Recovery is a calculation from the CDC … based on one of two conditions: 32 days have passed after a person was hospitalized for covid-19 and not deceased or 14 days have passed after a person tested positive … and they were not hospitalized.”

Health officials continue to urge residents to wear masks, wash their hands and maintain physical distance from others to keep the community safe.