Pennsylvania adds 5,874 covid cases, highest in a week

Pennsylvania added 5,874 additional cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest number in the past week.

The newly added cases from the Pennsylvania Department of Health raise the state’s total to 818,369.

Of the 222 deaths newly reported Wednesday, 214 are from January, seven are from December and one is from April. Those bring the state total to 21,105.

Locally, Allegheny County had the most new deaths reported at 17, followed by Butler and Somerset with five apiece, Fayette with four, Washington and Westmoreland with three each, Armstrong with two and Beaver with one.

Luzerne County had the most new cases in the state with 468, followed by Allegheny (376), Lancaster (374), Montgomery (352) and Philadelphia (347). Here’s how the rest of the region fared, with the change from Tuesday:

• Allegheny: 68,087 (+376)
• Armstrong: 4,536 (+15)
• Beaver: 10,759 (+86)
• Butler: 12,489 (+90)
• Fayette: 9,525 (+49)
• Indiana: 4,710 (+19)
• Somerset: 6,232 (+44)
• Washington: 12,267 (+104)
• Westmoreland: 24,368 (+141d)

More than nine percent of the state’s covid cases are linked to nursing and personal care homes, with residents accounting for 62,220 cases and employees another 11,788. Almost 49% of the state’s deaths are linked to those homes, with 10,287 occurring among their residents.

Pennsylvania currently has 3,768 covid patients hospitalized, a decline of 22 from Tuesday’s 3,790. The state has 6,087 ventilators, with 1,770 in use, including 447 by covid-19 patients. There are currently 759 coronavirus patients in intensive care units around the state, with 17.6% of the state’s ICU beds available.