Pa. posts highest single-day covid-19 deaths since May

Pennsylvania on Tuesday reported the most covid-related deaths in a single day since May.

There were 180 new deaths attributed to covid-19 — surpassing any single-day mark since 275 were posted May 14 — according to the Health Department.

Hospitalizations continue to climb as well. According to the state’s covid-19 tracking website, 4,744 state residents are in the hospital with the virus, 967 of them in the ICU and 524 of them on ventilators. State officials report there are 5,273 operational ventilators in the state, with 1,512 (28.7%) currently in use for all illnesses.

In all, the state reported 5,676 additional cases of covid-19 to bring the state total since March to 367,140. The daily PCR positivity rate hit a new high of 33.7%. The overall PCR positive rate stands at 10.7%.

The number of PCR tests administered between Nov. 24-30 was 375,888 with 32,853 positive cases. There were 38,752 total PCR test results reported to the department through 10 p.m. Nov. 30.

Cases are up dramatically since the beginning of November. Allegheny County cases are up 80%, Westmoreland 107%, Washington 116%, Butler 146% and Armstrong 134%. In Philadelphia County, case counts are up 56%, and in Centre County — home to Penn State University’s sprawling University Park campus — cases are up about 50%.

On Nov. 1, the state’s seven-day deaths average was at 151. On Tuesday, it sat at 612.

The trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 3,200 since the end of September, according to the state. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older, the state reported.