Westmoreland County adds fewest new covid cases since early October

Over the past two days, Westmoreland County added 76 additional cases of covid-19, according to Monday’s report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

It’s the first time the county has had a two-day new case count in double digits since Oct. 7.

Of the new cases, health officials report 48 were confirmed through 310 PCR tests, while 28 were listed as 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 county has now seen 19 straight days of double-digit new case counts. Westmoreland County hasn’t gone that long with two-digit counts since late September/early October.

State officials reported one new covid-related death in the county over the past two days, bringing the county’s total to date to 664.

As of Sunday, the state was reporting that 42,310 — or 12.2% — of Westmoreland County residents have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 14,994 individuals (4.3%) have received both shots.

The number of county residents hospitalized for covid-19 dropped by one over the past two days, according to the latest update on the Open Data PA website. There are currently 113 state residents in the hospital for the virus, with four of those in intensive care units and five on a ventilator.

Since the pandemic began last March, Westmoreland County has recorded 26,351 cases of covid-19, with 18,706 of those confirmed through PCR tests.