Covid numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area

The state Department of Health reports there have been 1,242 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Penn-Trafford area since the start of the pandemic in March.

The department on Monday released data on confirmed cases of the virus in the six Penn-Trafford area ZIP codes, showing an increase of 175 positive cases since Dec. 15.

The largest number of cases, 665, have originated in the 15644 ZIP code, which includes Jeannette and parts of Penn Township. It has increased by 102 over the past week.

The 15085 area, which encompasses Trafford, shows 283 confirmed cases, up 35 from Dec. 15.

There have been 165 confirmed cases in the 15636 area, which includes the Harrison City neighborhood.

The Manor (15665), Claridge (15623) and Penn (15675) areas have seen 72, 30 and 27 cases, respectively.

The data also show 6,491 negative test results and 404 probable positive tests in those six areas. With a total of 7,733 tests, just over 16% have come back positive.

A significant portion of Penn Township is also grouped under the Irwin ZIP code.

The Penn-Trafford School District has undergone multiple school closures this year after confirmed virus cases in its buildings.

Students will learn remotely this week and the week following the holiday break. All district schools are expected to reopen for in-person classes on Jan. 11, according to Superintendent Matt Harris.

Just over 100 students and staff members have tested positive since the school year began, and the district currently has 21 active cases, according to the covid-19 case tracker set up on its website.

According to the state’s tracking website, in Westmoreland County there have been 13,276 confirmed cases, 4,130 probable cases, 71,531 negative tests and 365 deaths since the outbreak began.

Westmoreland has seen more than 2,500 cases since the start of December. For purposes of comparison, for the first six months of the pandemic, March through August, the county registered 1,815 cases total.

Despite a small spike in late June and early July, the county’s daily confirmed case counts had remained relatively low until a sharp uptick beginning in late September. That number went back and forth, but has skyrocketed far beyond the pandemic’s early stages, reaching an all-time single-day high of 746 positive cases reported on Dec. 10.