Pennsylvania continues downward trend in covid deaths

Pennsylvania continues to report fewer deaths attributed to the coronavirus.

The state on Friday reported 43 additional covid-related deaths, for a total of 325 in a seven-day period. That’s the lowest seven-day total since mid-November. That number was over 1,000 for most of December and January but has been steadily trending downward as February turned to March.

Of the 43 deaths newly reported Friday, 15 are from March, 25 are from February, two are from January and one is from December, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The total of covid-related deaths is now 24,262 since the pandemic began.

The state reported an additional 2,757 cases of covid-19 Friday, raising Pennsylvania’s total to 944,196.

Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high-risk exposure” to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.

A total of 3,915,271 people have tested negative for the coronavirus.

There are 1,587 patients in the state hospitalized for covid-19 with 350 in intensive care units, according to the Department of Health.