Allegheny County adds 74 covid deaths, 670 new cases

Allegheny County added 74 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday but attributed the large number to a data backlog at the state level.

Those deaths bring the county’s total to 1,178. The deaths ranged from Dec. 4 to Jan. 8, with 73 of them from December.

The state data includes information imported from the Electronic Death Reporting System, with the reports listing covid-19 as an underlying cause of or a significant condition contributing to the death.

The county also added 670 covid cases, raising the county’s total to 62,439.

Of the new cases, 383 are confirmed from 1,942 PCR tests, with 287 probable cases. The dates of positive tests range from Nov. 15 to Jan. 12, with only 11 positive tests more than a week old.

New cases range from 7 months to 95 years with a median age of 39. Here’s how the cases — 352 female and 318 male — break down by age:

• 0-4: 12
• 5-12: 12
• 13-18: 63
• 19-24: 84
• 25-49: 263
• 50-64: 156
• 65+: 80

According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, there are currently 501 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county, a decline of 34 from Tuesday’s 535. It’s also down 153 since last Wednesday’s 654. The county has 1,168 ventilators, with 324 in use, including 68 by covid-19 patients. There are also 181 covid-19 patients in Allegheny County intensive care units, with 13.7% of county ICU beds available.

The county’s seven-day new case total sits at 4,731, a slight increase from last Wednesday’s 4,710. Its seven-day average of 676 is only three higher than last Wednesday’s 673.

Of the newly reported deaths, 49 are associated with long-term care facilities. Here’s how the 74 newly reported deaths broke down by age:

• 50s: 5
• 60s: 7
• 70s: 15
• 80s: 25
• 90s: 20
• 100+: 2

The Pennsylvania Department of Health added 45 deaths to Allegheny County’s death total which rose to 1,253, with the discrepancy between the two health agencies attributed to different reporting methods.

According to data compiled by the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, Penn Hills was the top location for new cases (172) in the county, followed by Moon (159), Bethel Park (149), Monroeville (134) and Mt. Lebanon (128). Overall, Penn Hills has had the most cases (1,985), followed by Baldwin (1,799), Monroeville (1,779), Ross (1,733) and Bethel Park (1,574).