Allegheny County reports 20 new covid-19 hospitalizations, 7 new deaths

Allegheny County Health Department reported 20 new hospitalizations and seven new deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday.

The county added 119 new covid-19 cases to the running total, which now stands at 7,593. There have been only three other times in July that new cases have been lower.

Tuesday’s near-record number of new reported hospitalizations come days after the record high, 22, was announced Friday. From Saturday to Monday, each day saw new reported hospitalizations drop to single digits, before increasing to Tuesday’s figure.

Past and present hospitalizations started the month at 397 and have risen to a cumlative total of 603 as of Tuesday — a 52% increase. In June, the total started at 340 and grew to 393 by June 30 — a 15.5% increase.

To date, the county estimates 4,439 covid-19 cases have recovered.

After two consecutive days of reporting no covid-19 deaths, the county saw its second highest reported increase in deaths this month, bringing the death total to 229.

Officials said the new reported deaths happened from July 23 to 26 and range in age from 75 to 95 years old. All of new deaths appear to be related to long-term care facilities, according to the county.

The new covid-19 cases reported Tuesday come from 1,804 test results and have a positivity rate of 6.59%. Of the new cases, the age range is 10 months to 97 years old, with a median age of 50. Positive tests range from July 10 to 27.