Covid cases spiking rapidly in Pennsylvania and Allegheny, Westmoreland counties

The latest covid-19 spike that health officials have been warning about appears to have arrived in Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, the state posted 4,213 new covid cases, the highest single-day tally since Feb. 7 (4,717). Over the past week, the seven-day average of new cases (2,888) has risen more than 16%.

Cases have not risen that rapidly since early January.

After averaging around 2,400 new cases daily over the first 15 days of March, the state has averaged close to 3,400 cases per day in the past five.

Cases in the state had been in decline after a rough December and early January. On Jan. 11, the state was averaging about 8,700 new cases per day. By Feb. 25, that average had dropped to around 2,400 — a 72% decline.

However, the steep decline then stopped and had been hovering around at the same level (2,400), until a few days ago.

Statewide

Of the latest 4,213 new covid cases in the state, 2,848 cases were confirmed through PCR tests, while 1,365 were listed as probable. Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.

Philadelphia County led the day’s new case count with 472. That was followed by Allegheny (368), Bucks (358), Montgomery (332) and Berks (316).

Other Western Pennsylvania counties reporting: Westmoreland (81), Washington (60), Butler (39), Fayette (31), Beaver (25), Lawrence (14), Armstrong (10), Indiana (9) and Greene (5).

There were 33 new covid-related deaths reported Saturday, with 29 of them in March, one from February, two from January and one from December.

To date, 24,774 Pennsylvanians have died as a result of covid-19.

While cases are spiking, deaths continue to decline. Covid deaths over a seven-day period in Pennsylvania has dropped dropped 51% since March 1 — from 412 to 201. Since the beginning of the year, that number has dropped 85% — from 1,357 to 201.

The state’s OpenDataPA portal is reporting 1,529 Pennsylvania residents currently hospitalized with covid-19. Of those, 318 are in intensive care units and 189 on ventilators.

In Pennsylvania, 1,638,137 residents have been fully vaccinated — either with both covid shots of the Pfizer or Moderna or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That’s nearly 13% of the state’s population. There are 3,363,267 residents with at least one shot, which is 26.5% of the state.

Since the pandemic began over a year ago, the state has seen 984,515 cases of the virus, with 841,294 confirmed through PCR tests.

Allegheny County

Health officials in Allegheny County reported 368 new covid cases Saturday. Of those, 272 have been confirmed, while 96 were listed as probables.

New cases ranged in age from 11 months to 93, with a median age of 34.

The recent state spike in cases also is evident in Allegheny County, where the seven-day average of new cases is up 25% from March 8, when it was 215 cases per day. The current level of 268 cases per day is back to where the county was on March 1. However, that number still is down greatly — 54% — from Jan. 1, when it was 579.

On Saturday, the University of Pittsburgh reported an 83% spike in new covid cases this past week and said four of its campuses are in a “guarded risk posture.”

Officials reported four new covid-related deaths, with one of those deaths occurring in January. One death was associated with a long-term care facility. Three of the deaths were people in their 70s; one was in their 90s.

The age breakdown of Allegheny County’s newest cases — 198 female, 170 male — is:

• Ages 0-4: 14
• Ages 5-12: 26
• Ages 13-18: 35
• Ages 19-24: 46
• Ages 25-49: 136
• Ages 50-64: 80
• 65 and older: 31

On the vaccination front, 169,165 have been fully vaccinated — either with both covid shots of the Pfizer or Moderna or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine — in the county. That’s nearly 14% of the county’s total population. There are 346,123 residents with at least one shot — over 28% of the population.

The state’s OpenDataPA portal is reporting 154 residents in Allegheny County are hospitalized for covid-19. Of those, 39 are in intensive care units and 21 are on ventilators.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 81,655 covid-19 cases in the county, with 63,325 confirmed through PCR tests.

Westmoreland County

In Westmoreland, 81 new cases of covid were reported. Of those, 48 were confirmed through PCR testing, while 33 were listed as probable.

The state-level spike also is being seen in Westmoreland County. The county’s seven-day new case average stands at 75, which is 36% more than it was just 12 days ago (55) and 12% higher than March 1 (67), but still 64% lower than it was Jan. 1 (209).

One new covid-related death was reported in Westmoreland County on Saturday, bringing the total to date to 696.

According to the state’s OpenDataPA portal, there are 26 Westmoreland County residents currently hospitalized for covid-19.

The number is three higher than yesterday; however, it is significantly lower than the portal had been reporting for weeks.

Barry Ciccocioppo, communications director with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the data recently has been incorrect and the health department is looking into the discrepancy.

Of the 26 people hospitalized, the portal reports three of them are in intensive care units and two are on ventilators.

There have been 43,683 fully vaccinated — either with both covid shots of the Pfizer or Moderna or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine — which is nearly 12% of the county’s population. There are 89,651 residents with at least one shot — nearly 25% of the population.

Since the pandemic began, 28,094 covid cases have been recorded in the county, with 19,648 confirmed through PCR tests.