The 3-month delay in Lab results in an abnormally high daily total amount in Allegheny County

On paper, Allegheny County on Wednesday recorded its second highest number of coronavirus patients since the pandemic, according to the state Department of Health.

In fact, the province’s daily total fall was largely in line with what it had reported since the region emerged from the winter outbreak in January, the province’s health department said.

A Western Pennsylvania lab reported three months of covid test results in one day, which explains the big difference in the health department’s daily case studies, Allegheny County said.

Pennsylvania Department of Health data showed 1321 additional cases in Allegheny County on Wednesday, bringing the province’s total to 92,385. The Allegheny County Health Department’s daily report shows 382 new cases, with 229 confirmed and 153 likely.

‘GS Lab, with locations on McKnight Road and in Upper St. Clair, has been testing since January, but has not reported the test results in the state system until (Tuesday). A total of 1,101 positive antigen test results were reported, of which 939 were provincial residents, ‘the health department wrote in an email.

Maggie Barton, spokeswoman for the health department, acknowledged that the delay in the data in the lab led to the abnormally high case in Allegheny County.

“We continue to work with these facilities to ensure timely reporting of information,” she said.

Allegheny County’s daily report for Wednesday contains only cases reported from other labs and tests of the past week by GS Lab. The province’s dashboard will be updated later with the rest of the data.

Westmoreland County has stayed above 100 newly reported cases for the eighth time in the past nine days, adding 164 on Wednesday. The province’s total climbed to 31,001. Of the 164 cases, 49 are confirmed and 115 likely.

In all, the state added 5,730 covid cases, with the total growing to 1,087,792. Allegheny County had by far the most additional cases in the state – again thanks to the data crash – followed by Philadelphia (667), Montgomery (317), Bucks (278) and Chester (247).

Washington County added 138 new cases, the most since 197 on January 14th. Here’s an overview of the rest of the region’s totals, with changes from Tuesday:

• Armstrong: 5,407 (+15)
• Beaver: 14,003 (+71)
• Butler: 16,049 (+81)
• Fayette: 11 836 (+46)
• Indiana: 5.639 (+22)
• Somerset: 7,200 (+35)

Deaths

The Department of Health in Pa. Added 50 deaths to the total of the state, which rose to 25,522. The state’s death toll from covid stands at 7,676 for 2021 so far.

Of the 50 deaths just reported on Wednesday, 46 are from April and four from March.

The Allegheny County Department of Health has reported 14 deaths, with deaths ranging from February 22 to April 11. Three of the deaths are related to long-term care facilities. The province’s total climbed to 1,828. The state’s death toll for Allegheny County rose by seven to 1,860, with one from March and six from April. The difference between the two health departments is attributed to different reporting methods.

Westmoreland County added three deaths to bring the total to 718. Elsewhere in the region, Butler was responsible for three deaths, with Washington two and Armstrong one.

Hospitalizations

Covid hospitalizations rose for the fifth consecutive day in the state, growing by 39 to 2,580. There are currently 542 covid patients in ICUs and 262 on ventilators.

Allegheny County saw a decrease from 12 hospitalizations to 287, with 78 in the ICU and 29 on ventilators. The province’s average for 14 days for hospitalizations has climbed to 266, the highest since February 14.

In Westmoreland County, covid hospitalizations numbered two to 64, with 12 covid patients in the ICU and five ventilators.

Vaccinations

According to state health data, Allegheny County has approached 300,000 residents to be fully vaccinated. In total, there are 290,236 people who have been fully vaccinated in the country, with another 230,172 partially vaccinated. This puts the province at almost 24% fully vaccinated.

Westmoreland County’s total climb to 77,115 was fully and 52,539 partially vaccinated.

In Pennsylvania, 2,488,948 people were completely vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine panel. It does not include people who have been vaccinated by a clinic in Philadelphia, a federal agency, or another state.