Pennsylvania sees rising covid cases, deaths, hospitalizations

Pennsylvania on Friday reported 5,650 new cases of covid-19, raising the seven-day average to 4,916, the highest average since early February.

There have been 1,098,502 cases recorded since the pandemic began, according to data from the state Department of Health.

The state added 56 new covid-related deaths, the second most deaths reported in the past month. There were 260 deaths added in the past seven days, more than in any seven-day period since the middle of March.

Of the 56 deaths newly reported Friday, 54 are from April, one is from March and one is from February. A total of 25,622 people in the state have died from covid-19.

There are 2,657 people across the state hospitalized for covid-19, the most since March 11. The 14-day average for covid hospitalizations is 2,433, the highest since March 20. There are currently 555 covid patients in intensive care units and 262 on ventilators.

The state reports 1,877,275 people have received the first of two doses of a covid vaccine and 2,637,654 are fully vaccinated. These numbers exclude Philadelphia, which tracks and reports its own vaccination data.

Allegheny County

Allegheny County on Friday added 491 new covid cases. Of the new cases, 419 are confirmed and 72 are considered probable. Thirty of the newly reported cases were from GS Labs and collected back in March.

The reporting Wednesday of a backlog of cases is partly responsible for the seven-day case average (533) being above 500 for three consecutive days.

The county has reported a total of 93,279 cases since the pandemic began.

Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.

Three additional deaths have been attributed to covid-19, bringing Allegheny’s total to 1,831, according to data from the county Health Department. One of the new deaths was a person was in their 50s, one was in their 70s and one in their 80s.

There has been a total of 6,378 people in the county hospitalized for covid-19. There are currently 267 covid patients hospitalized in the county, with 73 of those in intensive care units and 30 on ventilators.

The county reports 232,414 people have the first of two covid vaccinations and 306,336 are fully vaccinated. There are 538,750 people protected by a least one dose. That’s 44% of the county at least partially vaccinated and 25% are fully protected.

Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County on Friday recorded 166 new cases of covid-19, nudging the seven-day average up to 146 cases, the highest since Jan. 20. There have been 720 covid-related deaths in the county.

There was one new covid-related death reported in the county, bringing the seven-day total to eight, the highest seven-day total in three weeks.

In Westmoreland County, 57 covid patients are hospitalized, with ten of those in the ICU and five using ventilators.

The county has 51,876 people who have received one of two covid vaccine doses while 81,760 are fully vaccinated. In the county, 133,636 people, or 36%, are at least partially vaccinated and 22% are fully covered.