Allegheny County reports 2 new deaths from covid-19

The Allegheny County Health Department on Saturday reported two additional covid-19 deaths, bringing the total to 73.

Of those deaths, 66 are listed as confirmed cases of covid-19, while seven are considered probable.

At least 52 of the county’s covid-19 deaths — more than 70% — have been attributed to 32 nursing homes and personal care facilities, with at least 251 residents and 81 employees testing positive, state data show.

At least nine residents of the county-run Kane nursing home in Glen Hazel have died of covid-19, up from seven deaths reported there on Wednesday. Eight residents are hospitalized, another 60 have tested positive and 21 have recovered, with 33 employees testing positive, county data show.

Nursing homes account for as much as 60% of Pennsylvania’s covid-19 deaths statewide, Department of Health data show.

The county reported a total of 21 new confirmed or probable cases of the coronavirus disease since between Friday and Saturday.

The total case count now stands at 1,167 confirmed and 31 probable cases since the first local case was reported March 11.

A case is listed as probable when a person displays symptoms of covid-19 and has had close contact with a confirmed positive case but has not had a test themselves. The county health department is including those probable cases to assess community spread.

The youngest person to have died from the virus in Allegheny County was 42 and had underlying conditions, health department officials said.

The county reported that 211 people have been hospitalized sometime since the outbreak. Of those, 83 had required intensive care and 51 have been treated on ventilators. The county numbers don’t include the number of current patients being hospitalized.

Officials report that the highest concentration of covid-19 cases in the county has occurred in Richland Township. There are 65 confirmed cases there, which comes to about 58 cases per 10,000 people.

More than 15,000 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Allegheny County.