Pennsylvania adds 9,675 new covid cases in 2 days, 51 new deaths

Pennsylvania added more than 9,600 new cases of coronavirus in the past two days, according the state’s Department of Health.

There were 5,199 cases added on Sunday and another 4,476 added Monday. Of Sunday’s cases, 4,821 were confirmed; of Monday’s, 4,152 were confirmed.

Among Monday’s new cases, 20.7% of those tested were positive.

The state added 38 new covid-related deaths on Sunday, 13 on Monday. To date, there have been 9,325 covid-related deaths in the state.

“This week’s data, in terms of case increase, percent positivity and other factors is concerning,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a release from the Department of Health. “We know covid-19 does not discriminate. It is affecting all Pennsylvanians, no matter your race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status or whether you live a rural, suburban or urban area. We need all Pennsylvanians to take the steps they can take to protect one another.”

The statewide percent-positivity went up to 9.6% from 6.8% last week, health officials said Monday. They said only five counties in the state do not have a “concerning percent positivity” rate — Forest (1.8%), Cameron (2.1%), Union (3.2%), Wayne (3.7%) and Susquehanna (4.6%).

“The significant increase in cases and percent positivity across much of the state is cause for concern,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in the same release. “We need all Pennsylvanians to take a stand and answer the call to protect one another. We need Pennsylvanians to be united in wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing our hands and avoiding gatherings. It is only by working together that Pennsylvanians can prevent the spread of the virus.”

Health officials said 366,285 PCR tests have been administered from Nov. 9-15, yielding 35,355 positive results. There were 43,106 test results reported from Nov. 13 and 60,982 test results reported from Nov. 14.

To date, 8,655 individuals have had a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases, while 644 individuals have a positive serology test and either covid-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.

More people have been getting tested for the virus as of late. Currently, the state’s seven-day average of first-time PCR tests is 21,869; on Oct. 1, it was only 13,271 — about a 65% increase in testing.

However, the increase in positive results from those tests have increased more than six times as much. On Oct. 1, the state’s seven-day average of new positive PCR tests was 881; as of today’s report that number is a record 4,528 — a 413% increase.

“Our percent positivity has increased in recent weeks, which reflects that while our testing is increasing, so are our positive test results,” says Maggi Mumma, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman. “As we see these increases in cases, Pennsylvanians have an important role to play. We must be united by wearing a mask, washing our hands, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, downloading the Covid Alert PA mobile app and getting a flu vaccine.”

All but one of Sunday’s 38 deaths were in November; the other was recorded in October.

Eleven counties posted new case counts of more than 100 on Monday. Philadelphia led with 841, followed by Allegheny (500), Bucks (235), Lancaster (217), Montgomery (185), Westmoreland (167), Berks (159), York (142), Delaware (141), Chester (121) and Erie (101). On Sunday, 15 counties posted new case counts of over 100.

According to the state’s covid-19 tracking website, there are 3,375 Pennsylvanians hospitalized for covid, 558 of them in intensive care units and 269 of them on ventilators. State officials report there are 5,038 operational ventilators in the state, with 1,231 (24.4%) currently in use for all illnesses.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are have been 29,774 resident cases of covid-19 and 6,141 cases among employees.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 269,613 cases — both confirmed and probable — in Pennsylvania. A total of 2,573,621 individuals have tested negative for the virus.