Pennsylvania reports 9,605 new coronavirus cases, 230 deaths

Mike Palm | Wednesday, December 23, 2020 12:13 p.m.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 9,605 new coronavirus cases and 230 deaths in the state.

The new positive tests bring the state’s total to 581,156 and the newly added deaths raise the state’s total to 14,442.

Pennsylvania’s seven-day average of new cases dropped to 8,827 after hitting a peak of 10,579 on Dec. 16.

Allegheny County had the most new cases in the state, followed by Philadelphia (624), York (565), Montgomery (470) and Lancaster (469). Here’s how the rest of the region fared, with change from Tuesday:

Allegheny: 43,738 (+830) Armstrong: 3,016 (+74) Beaver: 7,702 (+188) Butler: 8,198 (+201) Fayette: 6,243 (+243) Indiana: 3,739 (+40) Somerset: 4,288 (+78) Washington: 7,974 (+150) Westmoreland: 17,406 (+327)

Of the 230 newly reported deaths, 228 are from December, one is from November and one is from June. December’s total now stands at 2,992, just 400 short of the 3,392 recorded in April, the state’s deadliest month.

According to state data, Allegheny County added the most new deaths in the region with 22, compared to Tuesday.

Allegheny: 867 (+22) Armstrong: 63 (no change) Beaver: 227 (+3) Butler: 156 (+6) Fayette: 77 (+9) Indiana: 102 (+2) Somerset: 62 (+6) Washington: 119 (+3) Westmoreland: 365 (+7)

The Allegheny County Health Department puts the county’s death total at 794, a discrepancy between the two health departments that has been attributed to different reporting methods.

According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, there are currently 6,142 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the state, a decline of nine from Tuesday’s 6,151. The state has 5,694 ventilators, with 1,988 in use, including 764 by covid-19 patients. There are currently 1,263 coronavirus patients in intensive care units around the state, with just 9.7% of the state’s ICU beds available.

Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram

There have been 49,042 cases of covid-19 in residents and 8,942 among employees of nursing and personal care homes (1,435 facilities throughout the state). More than 56% of the state’s deaths (8,138) have occurred in nursing and care home residents.

To date, 3,181,266 individuals have tested negative for coronavirus in the state.