Westmoreland County surpasses 500 covid deaths
Westmoreland County topped 500 deaths related to the coronavirus Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The state added 11 new deaths to the county’s total, bringing it to 502. Westmoreland became the 12th county in the state to reach 500 deaths. The county’s death rate per 100,000 residents is 143.9, the fourth highest in the region.
The county reached 100 deaths on Oct. 30, 200 deaths on Dec. 1, 300 deaths on Dec. 15 and 400 deaths on Dec. 30.
The county also added 277 more covid cases to bring the county’s total to 22,510. Of those cases, 103 are confirmed and 174 are probable. To date, 76,787 people have negative PCR tests in the county.
According to the state’s covid-19 dashboard, there are currently 152 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county, down five from Tuesday’s 157. The county has 96 ventilators, with 23 in use, nine by covid-19 patients. There are 20 coronavirus patients in Westmoreland County ICUs, with 22.2% of county ICU beds available.
Westmoreland County has seen a slight uptick in its seven-day new case average, going from 236 last Wednesday to 255 this week. It’s also seen a growth in its seven-day case total, going from 1,654 last Wednesday to 1,786 this week.
Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.
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