Pennsylvania reports 560 new coronavirus cases as state total tops 1,600
Share this post:
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania jumped by more than 500 from Wednesday to Thursday, according to state health officials, and five more people have died.
The state Department of Health tallied 560 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 1,687.
That’s a 50% increase in 24 hours.
That total includes 45 new cases in Allegheny County. Westmoreland County cases rose from 16 to 24. Butler County reported its first death from the virus while active cases there increased to 19.
Deaths now total 16. Of those, a majority have been patients age 65 or older — about 68%, according to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. All have been adults.
Four other counties also reported deaths: Montgomery and Monroe, bringing the total in both counties to two, and one each in Lehigh and Delaware counties.
Indiana County recorded its first case of the virus, as did Susquehanna, Crawford and Blair counties.
With Thursday’s additions, 48 of Pennslyvania’s 67 counties have now reported at least one case.
About 170 patients have required hospitalization since the first case was diagnosed in Pennsylvania on March 6, Levine said. That is about 10% of patients, a rate that has held steady as cases have grown and mirrors the percentages seen in other states, she said.
The percentage of Allegheny County patients requiring hospitalization is slightly higher than the state average: 20 of 133 cases there have required time in a hospital.
Of the hospitalizations, 56 patients required admission to an intensive care unit, she said, and 32 of those patients have needed to be placed on a ventilator. A little less than half of patients who needed breathing assistance were 65 or older — about 15 of them — and had chronic medical conditions.
Levine said more of the state’s positive cases — about 776 cases — are aged 50 or older.
The second-largest group is the 25-49 age group. About 658 patients, or 39%, fall into that age bracket. She reiterated a concern that young people could be the ones to overwhelm the health care system.
“It’s very important that younger adults not be complacent about their susceptibility,” she said.
Levine also detailed the personal protective equipment the state has given out to hospitals and emergency services personnel statewide (figures rounded):
• 679,000 N95 face masks;
• 207,600 procedure masks;
• 380,000 gloves;
• 36,900 gowns;
• More than 44,000 goggles and other facial protection.
She said state officials are continuing to get more supplies from the federal stockpile.
“We’re also really scouring the state and the country to purchase whatever is available to make sure that our response teams and our health care personnel have a sufficient supply of the resources that they need,” she said.