The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 410 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County.
It was the fourth consecutive day the county reported fewer than 500 cases.
On Friday, 248 cases were reported, marking the first time there were less than 250 cases since Dec. 7.
Eight deaths were reported Saturday, increasing the death toll to 345. That’s 56 more than there were the preceding week.
The 56 deaths also represent a weekly high for the county.
Two weeks ago, 50 deaths were recorded; three weeks ago, a then-record 52 deaths were reported; and 30 were reported four weeks ago.
That makes a four-week total of 188 covid-19-related deaths — amounting to more than half (54%) of the total deaths in the county from the virus.
Thirteen fatalities were reported Wednesday, marking the high of the week.
To further put the recent death surge in perspective, the first 19 days of December have produced 146, or 42% of, covid-19 deaths in Westmoreland County. The county didn’t reach that total from the time the virus was first reported there in March until Nov. 19.
Of the new covid-19 cases, 238 are confirmed and 172 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.
Saturday’s addition puts the seven-day average at 373 cases.
Westmoreland County has added more new coronavirus cases in the first 19 days of December — 6,942 — than it did in the first seven months after the virus arrived. The county surpassed that number, ironically, on Nov. 19 — the same day that happens to match December’s death total up to today.
The county’s total cases are at 16,203, a more than 2,600-case increase from last week’s 13,594.
The recent positives come from a batch of 549 tests, yielding a positivity rate of a whopping 43.4%.
The county has averaged about 605 tests per day this week.
