Covid cases continue to rise, but the pace appears to be easing

As Pennsylvania loosens its covid-19 mitigation restrictions, the spike in new cases of the virus is showing slight signs of slowing.

Over the past two days, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reports there were 6,651 new cases added, bringing the total cases since the pandemic began to 1,045,400.

While the latest two-day report is just over 16% higher than last week’s numbers, the state’s seven-day total number of cases (30,132) dropped slightly for the third time in the past six days. While cases are increasing, they appear to be increasing at a slower pace than they were a week ago. Over the past five days, the average increase in seven-day case numbers rose 16.7%. In the prior five-day span, that increase was 26.5%.

Among the newest cases, 5,684 were confirmed through PCR testing, while 967 were 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.

Allegheny County reported 522 new covid cases over the two-day span — an 18.4% drop from last week’s numbers. The county’s seven-day new case average fell back below 400 to 396; the seven-day case total fell to 2,773. Of the county’s new cases, 473 were confirmed through PCR testing and 49 were listed as probable.

New cases ranged in age from 2 months to 92 years, with a median age of 33 years.

The age groups of the latest cases in Allegheny County — 285 female, 237 male — are:

• Ages 0-4: 20
• Ages 5-12: 58
• Ages 13-18: 41
• Ages 19-24: 67
• Ages 25-49: 213
• Ages 50-64: 75
• Ages 65+: 48

In Westmoreland County, 113 new cases were added over the two-day reporting period — a 31% decline from the same period last week. The county’s seven-day new case average dropped to 113 per day and the seven-day case total dropped back below 800 to 792. Of the county’s new cases, 99 were confirmed through PCR testing, while 14 were listed as probable.

A data anomaly over the weekend delayed case reporting in Philadelphia County on Saturday. This caused the county to have — by far — the largest number of new cases over the past two days, with 1,296. It was followed by Montgomery (593), Allegheny (522), Bucks (498) and Delaware (365).

Here’s a look at totals for the region, with the change from Saturday’s numbers:

• Butler: 15,513 (+62)
• Erie: 18,870 (+48)
• Franklin: 13,669 (+45)
• Washington: 15,390 (+45)
• Fayette: 11,396 (+44)
• Beaver: 13,414 (+31)
• Lawrence: 6,731 (+23)
• Indiana: 5,435 (+19)
• Armstrong: 5,241 (+17)
• Somerset: 7,020 (+7)

According to the state’s covid dashboard, 90% of the covid-19 cases in the state are considered to be “recovered.” That translates to 934,874 people who have tested positive for the virus. According to the site, a person is considered to be recovered if their case “has not been reported as a death and it is more than 30 days past the date of their first positive test (or onset of symptoms).”

Using the state’s current case and death numbers, the state is assuming about 78,600 people are considered currently infected with covid-19. However, that would be only those cases that have been recorded. Health officials have acknowledged that not everyone with covid-19 has been tested.

Deaths

While the case numbers continue to increase, the covid-related death numbers continue to decline. On Monday, the state’s Department of Health reported 12 additional deaths over the two-day period. That drops the seven-day death total to 185 — 16% lower than one week ago (221) and 43% lower than on March 5 (325). Since the pandemic began, there have been a total of 25,200 deaths from covid-19 in Pennsylvania.

Of the 12 newly reported deaths, 11 are from March and one is from April.

On Monday, the Allegheny County Health Department reported no new deaths from the virus, leaving its total covid deaths toll at 1,792. The county’s seven-day death total remains 32 — 12 higher than last Monday, but seven lower than March 5.

There were also no new covid-related deaths reported in Westmoreland County, which drops the seven-day death total there to three. It’s the lowest that number has been since Oct. 9. There have been a total of 707 covid deaths in Westmoreland.

Hospitalizations

The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized for covid-19 increased to 2,247 with Monday’s latest report. Officials said there were 60 new hospitalizations over the past two days in the state, bringing the state’s 14-day average to 1,952 — the highest that number has been since March 1, when 1,981 were in the hospital across the state. Last week, the state saw an additional 121 new hospitalizations.

Of those hospitalized, 427 are in intensive care units across the state and 225 are on ventilators.

In Allegheny County, 256 residents are in the hospital — 17 more than there were on Saturday — with 71 in the ICU and 28 on ventilators. Allegheny County’s 14-day hospital average is 208.

In Westmoreland County, there are 33 residents hospitalized for covid, with five in the ICU and five on ventilators. The county’s 14-day hospital average is 24.

Vaccinations

Vaccination numbers continue to increase across Pennsylvania, with over 18% of the state’s population having received either the Johnson & Johnson single-shot covid vaccine or both doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

As of Monday’s numbers, 2,289,755 are considered fully vaccinated, according to data from the state health department and the most recent numbers from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. There are 4,288,701 Pennsylvanians with at least one dose of a covid vaccine (nearly 34%).

In Allegheny County, 453,746 have at least one dose (37%) and 239,061 are considered fully vaccinated (19.5%). In Westmoreland County, 61,859 are considered fully vaccinated (16.9%) and 114,338 have at least one shot (31.3%).

Since the pandemic began, there have been 1,045,400 recorded cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania, with 888,747 cases confirmed through PCR testing.

In Allegheny County, there have been 87,623 cases, with 67,641 confirmed through PCR tests. In Westmoreland County, there have been 29,722 cases, 20,571 confirmed through PCR tests.