Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania continue to rise in general, while cases in the provinces of Allegheny and Westmoreland remain cautious according to the latest data available to the state.
Hospitalizations also remain a concern as numbers increase.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 4,746 additional cases; the seven-day average in the state rose to 4,328, up 6.2% from last Thursday. This is the third day in a row that cases are above 4,000.
Pennsylvania’s total number of cases stands at 1,059,044.
Allegheny County has experienced 379 new cases, with an average of seven days of 421. The new cases of coronavirus in the country range between 2 weeks and 100 years, with an average age of 33 years. The division of the newly reported cases is 181 men and 198 women.
The additional cases of coronavirus bring the total of Allegheny County to 88,952 since the start of the pandemic last year.
While the Thursday numbers are lower than the previous two days, dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Department of Health, spoke Wednesday and warned that the country is ‘far in our fourth spate of cases here’.
Bogen cites the higher daily number of covid-19 cases and the increase in hospitalizations in the country as worrying.
“And we know what the cause is,” she said. ‘Great gatherings, combined with no physical distance or masks, mixed with the various viruses in our community. The next few months are the last step, and we must all exercise self-control. This is not the time to give up. ”
In Westmoreland County, 130 new cases have been reported, bringing the seven-day average to 124. The average in the province has been rising since mid-March.
With the additional cases, the total number of cases in Westmoreland County is 30,135.
Hospitalizations
Covid-related hospitalizations continued to rise throughout the state.
According to the state’s data, the number of residents admitted to the hospital due to the virus is 2451, compared to Wednesday 26. This comes after 41 additional hospitalizations were added on Wednesday, Tuesday 137 and Monday 45.
In the state, there are currently 245 covid patients on ventilators and 517 in intensive care units.
Hospitalizations have risen since March 20, when there were 1,529 people in hospital due to the coronavirus – an increase of 922. State hospitals peaked in December and have increased in recent weeks after falling.
According to the latest state data, 288 residents of Allegheny County are being hospitalized for covid (seven as of Wednesday), 81 of them are in ICUs and 30 in a ventilator.
In Westmoreland County, 41 covid patients are admitted to the hospital, with nine in the ICU and five in ventilators. (The state did not declare its data error that hospitalizations in the country suddenly dropped from 117 on March 17 to 26 on March 18.)
Deaths
The health department reported 42 additional deaths as the total from the state rose to 25,327.
The Allegheny County Department of Health added no new deaths to bring the total to 1,797. The state health department reports a total of 1,832 deaths in Allegheny County. The difference in the number between the two health departments was not explained.
Westmoreland County caused another fatal death, bringing the total number in the country to 712.
Vaccinations
On Wednesday, Governor Tom Wolf visited Bethlehem Baptist Church in McKeesport to talk about the vaccine and the continuing acceleration of the state’s vaccination.
He said Pennsylvania residents who want to receive the covid-19 vaccine will be able to get at least one dose by mid-May.
“We believe we should reach the point somewhere by the second week in May with at least one dose … everyone who wants a chance,” Wolf said. “We can be right, or we can be wrong.”
According to state and province data, more than 4.5 million people (35.5% of the population) received at least one dose of a covide vaccine and more than 2.4 million were fully vaccinated (19.4% of the inhabitants).
These numbers include both data from the Department of Health in Pennsylvania and the Department of Health in Philadelphia, which keep separate records regarding vaccinations in the state.
The state reported that 470,247 residents of Allegheny County (38.4% of residents) received at least one dose of vaccine, while 248,475 individuals were fully covered (20.3% of residents).
In Westmoreland County, 119,062 residents (32.6% of residents) received at least one dose of a covide vaccine, and 65,494 individuals were fully covered (17.9% of residents).
Frank Carnevale is a Tribune Review Assistant Editor for Digital Content. You can contact Frank at 412-380-8511, [email protected] or via Twitter .