Pennsylvania posts 839 new covid-19 cases on Monday

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 839 new cases of covid-19 on Monday.

For the second straight day, the state reported a new case count below 1,000. There have been a total of 108,264 cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

On Monday, there were four new deaths attributed to covid-19, bringing the total to 7,122.

The state reported that 159,495 tests were administered from July 20-26, with 6,398 positive cases in that period.

Allegheny County recorded the highest new case count (180) on Monday. The next highest was in Philadelphia County (166), followed by Delaware (86), Montgomery (63) and Chester (52). Forty counties posted new case counts, with 27 counties reporting no new cases.

In nursing and personal care homes, the state reported there have been 19,157 resident cases of covid-19, with 3,837 cases among employees. Those figures are from 831 distinct facilities in 61 counties.

From April 2-May 10, Pennsylvania saw 33 days of plus-1,000 new case counts. From May 11-July 9, the state’s daily new counts remained below 1,000. Since July 10, the state has broke the 1,000 mark five times.

Philadelphia County remains the leader in overall cases, with 25,121. They also have recorded the most deaths (1,672). Allegheny County ranks 4th in case count (7,474) and 10th in deaths (218), with Westmoreland County ranking 17th in case count (1,313) and 21st in deaths (43). The state continues to differ in covid-19 deaths for Allegheny County, reporting 218 deaths, while the Allegheny County Health Department reports 222 deaths.

According to the state’s covid-19 website, 75% of those who have had covid-19 in Pennsylvania are considered recovered.

The state considers an individual recovered the same way several other states do: If a case has not been reported as a death and is more than 30 days past the date of the person’s first positive test (or onset of symptoms), then that person is considered recovered. It is purely an estimate, with no hard data to back it up.

Officials remind residents that mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home, adding that consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of covid-19.