New covid cases down nearly 47% in Westmoreland County in January

Westmoreland County recorded nearly 47% fewer new cases of covid-19 in January than in December.

The latest report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health completes January’s data, showing a total of 5,370 new cases, a 46.7% decline from December’s total (10,072).

The report stated there were 105 additional cases over the Sunday-Monday period, with all but one confirmed through 539 new PCR tests. One of the new cases remains 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.

For a third straight day, Westmoreland County recorded new cases in the double digits, something that hasn’t happened since early November. The county’s seven-day average of newly reported cases is down to 84. Not since Nov. 9 (82) has the average been as low.

State health officials reported five additional deaths over the past two days, bringing the county’s total to 606. While exact dates of death aren’t yet finalized, the state reported 182 deaths during January as opposed to 224 deaths reported in December.

The decline in cases in January is a tale of two halves — from Jan. 1-15 the state reported 3,533 new cases in Westmoreland County, while from Jan. 16-31 that number dropped by nearly half — 1,837 cases.

Westmoreland County hospitalizations for covid-19 also dropped in January, going from 167 on Jan. 1 to 144 on Sunday. Among patients in intensive care units, the number went from 23 to eight, and for those on a ventilator it went from 13 to five.

Currently, according to the Open Data PA website, there are 141 Westmoreland County residents hospitalized with covid-19, with nine of them in the ICU and four on a ventilator.

Since the pandemic began in March, there have been 24,766 cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania, with 17,875 confirmed through PCR tests. A total of 81,419 residents have tested negative.