Pennsylvania's new covid cases drop to lowest levels in 4 months

The number of new coronavirus cases reported Monday in Pennsylvania by the state’s Department of Health has not been so low since late October.

Health officials added 3,427 new cases of covid-19, with 2,583 confirmed through PCR tests and 844 listed as probable.

The two-day report brings the number of cases reported since last March to 915,018. In the past week, 18,158 cases have been reported, a 24% decline from a week ago (24,035) and a 54% drop since Jan. 22 (39,561).

The state reported 44 more covid-related deaths in the past two days, bringing the total to date to 23,614. The newly reported death numbers have dropped to their lowest levels since late November.

Health officials reported Monday that statewide percent positivity for the week of Feb. 12-18 stood at 6.5%.

Among the counties reporting new cases over the two-day span, Allegheny (374) was the highest, followed by Philadelphia (264), Montgomery (261), Bucks (201) and Lancaster (183).

Over the past two days, 22 counties reported new case counts in the single digits, and 56 of the state’s 67 counties reported counts in the double digits.

Two-day counts for other Western Pennsylvania counties: Erie (91), Westmoreland (76), Beaver (52), Washington (51), Butler (49), Fayette (28), Lawrence (14), Somerset (14), Armstrong (8), Indiana (8) and Clarion (1).

As of Monday, the state was reporting that 1,458,241 — or 11.4% — of Pennsylvanians have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, while 541,091 individuals (4.2%) have received both shots.

The number of state residents hospitalized for covid-19 dropped by nearly 100 over the past two days, according to the latest update on the Open Data PA website. There are currently 1,963 state residents in the hospital for the virus, with 418 of those in intensive care units and 240 on a ventilator.

Health officials point out that most of the patients hospitalized in the state are ages 65 or older.

The department of health reports the 14-day average number of hospitalized patients per day is about 3,600 lower than it was at the peak on Christmas Day. The current 14-day average also is below what it was at the height of the spring peak on May 3.

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.

Since the pandemic began, Pennsylvania has recorded 915,018 coronavirus cases, with 788,714 of those confirmed through PCR tests.