Allegheny County's covid numbers saw dramatic decline in February

Allegheny County saw its covid numbers drop dramatically in the month of February, recording 53% fewer new cases than in January.

February’s total new cases in the county added up to 7,301. In January, that number was 15,559.

It was the second largest month-to-month decline during the entire pandemic. The largest decline was a 57.8% drop from July to August.

Declines were also notable among the county’s reported covid-related death toll, which went from 498 in January to 216 in February. While the true dates of death vary — with some eventually adjusted to previous months — the reporting of them remains comparable.

Hospitalizations were also sharply down. On Feb. 1, there were 313 county residents hospitalized for covid-19. By Sunday, that number had dropped to 184.

On Monday, the Wolf Administration announced revised and lifted mitigation restrictions that are effective immediately statewide.

“Pennsylvania is taking a measured approach to revising or lifting mitigation orders,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a press release. “The reason we are seeing cases drop can be attributed, in part, to people following the mitigation efforts we have in place. Mask-wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene are making a difference and need to continue even as we see more and more people fully vaccinated. We need to balance protecting public health with leading the state to a robust economic recovery. We are lifting mitigation efforts only when we believe it is safe to do so.”

The eased restrictions include revised maximum occupancy limits for indoor events — regardless of venue size — to allow for 15% of maximum occupancy and outdoor events to 20% of maximum occupancy, and the elimination on out-of-state travel restrictions.

Newest numbers

Over the past two days, health officials are reporting 404 new cases, with 274 cases confirmed through 1,344 PCR tests and 130 cases 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.

Among the new positive cases, two of them are more than a week old. The dates of the positive tests range from Feb. 15 to Sunday.

New cases ranged in age from 3 months to 92 years with a median age of 38 years.

The county’s seven-day new case average (268 as of Monday) has been on the rise since last week, with the county recording 300 more cases the past seven days than the previous seven.

County health officials reported no new covid-related deaths. They also reported one previously reported death had been misidentified as an Allegheny County resident. That death was deducted from the county’s total, which now stands at 1,668.

Among the new cases — 226 male and 178 female — the age breakdown is:

• Ages 0-4: 6
• Ages 5-12: 19
• Ages 13-18: 31
• Ages 19-24: 61
• Ages 25-49: 150
• Ages 50-64: 76
• Ages 65 and over: 61

On Monday, the state’s Open Data site was reporting 169 county residents hospitalized for covid, with 52 in intensive care units and 14 on ventilators.

On the vaccination front, the state reports 184,676 county residents have received at least one dose of a covid vaccine, with 70,423 residents fully vaccinated.

Since the pandemic began last March, Allegheny County has recorded 76,853 cases of covid-19, with 60,137 cases confirmed through PCR tests and 16,716 listed as probable.