Pennsylvania’s coronavirus death toll pushed past 1,500 on Tuesday as state health officials continue to refine how they are reporting cases and deaths.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 360 new deaths related to covid-19 were reported throughout the day Monday. The number of deaths statewide now stands at 1,564.

There also were 1,296 new cases of the virus reported, bringing the running case count in the state to 34,528. The first cases were identified in Pennsylvania on March 6.

Included in those numbers were 12 new deaths reported in Allegheny County, bringing the total killed by virus there to 67. The youngest person to have died from the virus in the county was 42. Seventeen new cases were identified, increasing that total to 1,059.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said during her daily briefing that the state has begun reporting probable covid-19 deaths.

Probable deaths still have covid-19 listed as a cause or contributing cause on an individual’s death certificate, she said. They are listed as probable because the person was never tested for coronavirus but may have had close contact with someone who tested positive.

“This is not unusual,” she said. “This is the way that infectious disease deaths are usually reported.”

Confirmed covid-19 deaths mean the individual had already been tested and found to be positive for the virus. Of the state’s total deaths, 1,264 are confirmed coronavirus deaths and 300 are probable.

The same is being done with cases as a whole, Levine said. A confirmed case is an individual who has tested positive for the virus. Probable cases are those who were not tested but exhibit symptoms of the virus and were in close contact with someone who has a confirmed case.

Of the new cases added Tuesday, 981 were confirmed cases and 215 were probable.

Butler County reported one more death for a total of six, and the death total in Westmoreland County stands at 25. A lag time in reporting means the Department of Health is reporting only 20 deaths in Westmoreland, where there have been 291 total cases.

Seven more deaths were reported in Beaver County, bringing the county’s death toll to 43. The county is home to Brighton Rehab, where the virus has sickened dozens.

State officials have begun identifying the number of affected nursing homes and the infections and deaths associated with them in each county, but it is not identifying the affected facilities. As of Tuesday, the state was reporting 183 covid-19 cases among residents in three Beaver County nursing homes. They have reported 34 deaths in those facilities.

In Allegheny County, 43 long-term care residents have died across 34 facilities. Statewide, 796 deaths have occurred in such facilities – nearly half of the state’s total deaths. A total of 5,026 nursing home residents have been infected across at least 396 facilities.

Statewide, more than 132,300 people have tested negative for the virus, including 11,611 in Allegheny County.

State health officials have said they cannot track recoveries, particularly in those who had mild symptoms and recovered at home without hospital care. Levine has said her department is working on releasing the number of covid-19-related hospital discharges as a means of quantifying recoveries.

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