As Pa. covid cases rise, hospitalizations drop for 1st time in nearly 3 weeks

With the latest numbers released Friday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, coronavirus cases are continuing to increase across the state.

However, state hospitalizations for covid declined for the first time in nearly three weeks. That, combined with the fact that more than 20% of the state population has been fully vaccinated, provided a bit of more positive news.

Cases

Pennsylvania saw 5,048 new covid-19 cases added to its total Friday. It’s the second time in April there were more than 5,000 cases reported in a single day. The state’s seven-day average bumped up to 4,384 and its seven-day total is at 30,686 — the highest those numbers have been since Feb. 4.

Of the state’s new cases, 4,072 were confirmed through PCR testing, while 976 were listed as probable cases. 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.

There have been a total of 1,064,092 covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania since the pandemic began last year.

Allegheny County saw 593 new cases added, bringing it’s seven-day average to 442 and its seven-day total to 3,097. It’s the highest the figures have been since Jan. 20. Of the county’s new cases, 433 were confirmed and 160 were listed as probable. New cases ranged in age from 7 months to 96 years, with a median age of 29 years.

The age breakdown of Allegheny County’s latest cases — 318 female, 275 male — are:

• Ages 0-4: 23
• Ages 5-12: 63
• Ages 13-18: 67
• Ages 19-24: 72
• Ages 25-49: 245
• Ages 50-64: 82
• Ages 65 and over: 41

Allegheny County has had a total of 89,545 covid-19 cases, with 68,925 confirmed through PCR testing.

In Westmoreland County, there were 165 new cases — the second highest such figure this month. The county’s seven-day case average is now 129 and its seven-day case total is 905 — the highest those numbers have been since Jan. 25. Of the county’s new cases, 97 were confirmed and 68 were listed as probable.

Westmoreland County has seen a total of 30,300 covid-19 cases, with 20,869 confirmed through PCR testing.

With 593 cases, Allegheny topped all Pennsylvania counties Friday, narrowly beating out Philadelphia (590). That was followed by Bucks (307), Montgomery (285) and Berks (201). There were 53 counties reporting fewer than 100 new cases, 40 of them with 50 or less.

Other Western Pennsylvania counties reporting cases:

• Washington 15,732 (+94)
• Butler 15,797 (+82)
• Fayette 11,602 (+67)
• Beaver 13,681 (+65)
• Erie 19,064 (+55)
• Indiana 5,537 (+23)
• Somerset 7,088 (+22)
• Armstrong 5,325 (+19)
• Lawrence 6,834 (+16)

Deaths

There were 35 covid-related deaths reported by the state Friday, putting its seven-day death total at 214 — the highest in April so far. Over the past three weeks, that figure has been fluctuating between 172 and 226. To date, there have been 25,362 covid-related deaths in the state.

The Allegheny County Health Department added 10 deaths on Friday, with the majority coming from an import of data by the state from the Electronic Death Reporting System. Three of the deaths were associated with a long-term care facilities. Allegheny County’s health officials have the total deaths at 1,807, while the state is reporting a total of 1,838. There has been no explanation for the difference.

Dates of death in Allegheny County range from March 30 to Wednesday. Of the deaths: One person was in their 30s, one in their 50s, two in their 60s, two in their 70s, three in their 80s and one in their 90s.

For the fourth time this month, there were no new deaths reported in Westmoreland County. The total number of deaths there remains at 712.

Hospitalizations

For the first time in 20 days, Pennsylvania saw a decrease in the number of residents hospitalized for covid-19. As of the latest data Friday, there are 2,439 people in the hospital, a decrease of 12. Of those hospitalized, 496 are in intensive care units — 21 fewer than Thursday’s 517. There are 251 on ventilators across the state.

Allegheny County saw its first decline in hospitalizations in the past 12 days, with 275 now being cared for at a facility — a decline of 13 from Thursday. Of those hospitalized, 83 are in ICUs and 32 on ventilators.

Westmoreland County has 43 in the hospital — two more than Thursday — with 10 in ICUs and six on ventilators.

Vaccinations

Looking at the latest data, one out of every five Pennsylvanians is now fully vaccinated from covid-19. Friday’s data shows that at least 2,559,001 (20.15%) state residents have received either the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine or both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna shot. The data doesn’t yet include the latest numbers from Philadelphia, which provides its own information on vaccinations.

There are now at least 4,594,900 (36.17%) state residents who have at least one dose of a covid vaccine.

In Allegheny County, 257,541 (21.05%) are fully vaccinated, while 477,395 (39.02%) have at least one dose. In Westmoreland County, 67,644 (18.52%) are fully vaccinated, while 121,207 (33.19%) have at least one dose.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker, Pennsylvania has received 8,911,635 doses of vaccine and has administered 6,819,136 (76.52%) of them. That places Pennsylvania 27th among the 50 states in terms of percentage of covid vaccines administered.

On Monday, Pennsylvania will move into Phase 1C, which will make eligible for the vaccine: Those in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, housing construction, finance (including bank tellers), information technology, communications, energy (including nuclear reactors), legal services, federal, state, county and local government workers (including county election workers, elected officials and members of the judiciary and their staff), media, public safety and public health workers.