Westmoreland County on Friday reported 248 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest daily total since posting a record 657 cases a week ago.
The drop brings the county’s seven-day average down to 395 from a high of 469 just two days ago.
Of the new cases, 229 are confirmed from 567 new PCR (nasal swab) tests, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The county has a total of 15,793 covid cases, with 12,146 of those confirmed and 3,647 listed as probable. There have been 69,877 county residents who tested negative for the virus.
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.
Westmoreland reported 11 new covid-related deaths Friday, raising the total since March to 337.
The county has 175 residents hospitalized for covid-19 with 20 of those in intensive care units and 15 on ventilators. There are 100 total ventilators in the county and 24 are in use for all illnesses.
The daily PCR positivity rate in the county is 40.39% while the county’s overall rate is 14.81%.
