As Allegheny County's covid cases slow, deaths hit record mark

Another 525 cases of covid-19 were reported Wednesday by the Allegheny County Health Department.

While certainly still high, the new cases are nearly 50% less than Tuesday’s four-digit report. The new count puts the county back on its recent trend of fewer cases. The seven-day average of new cases drops to 609, the lowest it’s been since late November.

However, the lower cases were countered by news of 47 new covid-related deaths Wednesday. The dates of death range from Nov. 22-Dec. 29. Only one of the new deaths is from November.

Of the new deaths: One person was in their 40s, two in their 50s, seven in their 60s, 11 in their 70s, 16 in their 80s and 10 in their 90s. Twenty-seven deaths were associated with long-term care facilities.

Having reported 41 deaths just a day earlier, the county’s seven-day death total hit a record 151. The county’s previous seven-day high mark was 118, set on Dec. 17.

To date, 945 county residents have died from the virus. In December alone, officials have reported 436 of those deaths.

Of Wednesday’s new cases, 485 were confirmed from 1,703 new PCR tests from Nov. 23-Dec. 29, with 67 of those positives being more than a week old. Forty of the new cases were listed as probables. New cases range in age from 3 years to 99 years, with a median age of 51 years.

Allegheny County had the third highest report of new cases in the state Wednesday, with only Philadelphia (709) and Delaware (633) counties the only ones reporting more new cases.

The age breakdown of the new cases — 302 females, 223 males — are:

• Ages 5-12: 3
• Ages 13-18: 23
• Ages 19-24: 43
• Ages 25-49: 176
• Ages 50-64: 137
• Ages 65 and over: 143

State health officials report that hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine the week of Dec. 14 and the Moderna vaccine the week of Dec. 21.

Through Dec. 29, officials report that 8,529 doses of the vaccines have been administered to county residents.

According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, there are 761 Allegheny County residents currently hospitalized for the virus, with 184 of them in the intensive care unit and 91 on respirators. The average number of covid patients in county hospitals has dropped nearly 10% since a week ago.

To date, Allegheny County has recorded 52,998 covid cases, with 82% of those confirmed from PCR tests. There have been 300,969 county residents that have tested negative for the virus.