Pennsylvania, Allegheny County report record covid cases

Allegheny County and Pennsylvania as a whole reported record-breaking covid-19 case counts on Friday, posting numbers above even the height of the late 2020 surge, data shows.

The state Department of Health reported 13,286 new covid cases, topping the previous record of 12,884 set in December 2020 before vaccines were available.

Until Friday, the state’s seven-day average had been below 8,500. The record case count bumped the moving average up 7% to 9,091.

Allegheny County recorded 1,585 new cases, though more than a third are considered probable and likely come from rapid or at-home testing.

In Westmoreland County, 396 new cases were reported — the most since early this month.

Allegheny reported the most new cases Friday of any Pennsylvania county: Philadelphia trailed by just a few, at 1,548.

On Thursday, the first lab-confirmed cases of the omicron variant were reported by Allegheny County, though it had likely been circulating for longer, as officials said small amounts of the virus began appearing in wastewater samples around Dec. 10.

As of Thursday morning, Allegheny County had recorded 101 covid-related deaths this month. Seventy-three deaths were unvaccinated individuals, health officials said. Eighteen of the 73 were among the 30 to 59 age group, and all 18 were unvaccinated.

Among the 28 deaths of vaccinated people, 25 were over 70 years old, while the other three were over 60.

There have been 84 covid deaths in Westmoreland County this month. Data regarding their vaccination status was not available.