Allegheny County reports most new covid cases in Pa., adds 46 deaths

Allegheny County reported the most new coronavirus cases in the state Wednesday.

The county’s health department reported 881 new cases, bringing its total since last March to 57,708.

Those new cases were the highest reported in the state, followed by Philadelphia (752), Lancaster (459), Montgomery (448) and Bucks (414), according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The county also added 46 deaths, ranging from Nov. 28 through Tuesday, as the county’s total grew to 1,057 as information was imported from the state’s Electronic Death Reporting System. The state health department puts the county’s death total at 1,099, a discrepancy attributed to different reporting methods.

Of those deaths added by the county, two are from November, 40 are from December and four are from January. One person was in their 40s, one in the 50s, three in their 60s, 14 in their 70s, 18 in their 80s and nine in their 90s. Twenty-two of the deaths are associated with long-term care facilities.

According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, there are currently 654 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county, a change of 12 from Tuesday’s 666. The county has 1,169 ventilators, with 342 in use, including 65 by covid-19 patients. There are also 191 covid-19 patients in Allegheny County intensive care units, with 12.5% of county ICU beds available.

Of the new cases, 524 were confirmed through 1,830 PCR tests ranging from Nov. 21 through Tuesday, with 65 of the positive tests more than a week old. Of the day’s cases, 357 were listed as probable.

The new cases — 457 female and 424 male — range from 3 months to 100 years, with median age of 49.

Here’s how the cases broke down by age:

• 0-4: 15
• 5-12: 34
• 13-18: 42
• 19-24: 77
• 25-49: 319
• 50-64: 202
• 65+: 192

The 881 new cases is well above the county’s seven-day average of new cases of 673.