Allegheny officials ask residents to refrain from large St. Patrick's Day gatherings

Allegheny County officials encouraged residents to forgo large gatherings this weekend — the time typically defined by St. Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout Pittsburgh and the county.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled for the second year to prevent covid-19 transmission. Still, last year, before tighter restrictions had been placed, bars and restaurants were packed with patrons dressed in green.

“We know that this virus spreads very efficiently when you take your masks off, you get close to people, you shout, you yell, you sing,” Dr. Debra Bogen, the county’s health director, said during a virtual press briefing Wednesday. “My recommendation is that if you are going to have a St. Patty’s Day celebration, keep it small.”

She asked people to have their celebrations outdoors, if possible, and try to maintain physical distancing.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald noted that two of the viral surges the county has experienced in the last year occurred following major holidays. The county saw a spike in cases after Memorial Day in the early summer, and then again after Halloween.

“Both (surges) occurred when we were doing well and got a little complacent,” Fitzgerald said.

His comments come nearly a year after he and Bogen announced the first two cases of covid-19 in Allegheny County. The key difference this year, he said, is the presence of three vaccines. According to Department of Health data, nearly 97,500 Allegheny County residents are fully vaccinated, and more than 146,000 are partially vaccinated.

Bogen said the health department has administered more than 53,000 vaccines to date and is close to announcing the opening of a third distribution site. The Castle Shannon distribution site alone provided about 1,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine each day in the last week, she said. The Monroeville site has been providing second-dose shots of the Moderna vaccine at approximately the same rate.

The department continues to focus its vaccine distribution on individuals 65 and older, Bogen said, because they are statistically at most risk for adverse outcomes to covid-19.

“I continue to monitor the data, and when we’re able to reach more and more of that high-risk population, we will lower our age requirements for those who meet 1A conditions,” she said. “But I’m letting the data really drive the timing of that change.”

There has been a “stabilization” of the vaccine supply from the state Department of Health in the last few weeks, Bogen said.

“While the quantities of vaccine we’re receiving fall short of the demand,” she said, “communication and actual delivery of the vaccine from the Pennsylvania Department of Health is improving, and we know they’re working diligently to resolve some lingering challenges.”

Allegheny County’s infection levels have stabilized, officials said, with 209 new cases reported Wednesday. The county’s percent test positivity in the last week dropped slightly, to 5.2%.