Pennsylvania coronavirus death toll tops 4,000

The coronavirus death toll in Pennsylvania surpassed 4,000 on Thursday, a day before more than a dozen new counties were set to ease restrictions and resume some semblance of everyday life.

State health officials reported 275 more covid-19 deaths and 938 newly identified cases of the virus.

The Department of Health said 44 of the deaths were reported throughout the day Wednesday, and the remaining 231 were added as part of the department’s continued work to catch up with county-level data.

The state’s death toll now stands at 4,218, and the running case count is 59,636. The first two cases were identified in the eastern part of the state on March 6.

Allegheny County reported just six new cases on Thursday, and the death toll remained at 139. Westmoreland County recorded three new cases, and the total number of covid-19 deaths has been steady at 32 since last week.

More than 8,000 test results were added to the state total on Thursday, and 251,559 people have tested negative.

Across the state, 2,896 long-term care residents have died from the virus, and 12,677 have contracted the virus. Of the state’s approximately 1,920 care homes, 549 have reported at least one case of covid-19.

In Allegheny County, 109 care home residents have died, including 18 at the county-owned Kane Community Living Center in Glen Hazel. There have been 373 cases across 36 facilities.