Pennsylvania reports 1,598 new coronavirus cases, 21 new deaths

Pennsylvania on Thursday reported another day of over 1,000 new covid-19 cases, along with 21 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus.

The state Department of Health reported 1,598 cases Thursday. October has seen all but two days of over 1,000 cases reported. The total number of cases climbed to 177,520 since the state started tracking cases in March.

Twenty-one new deaths attributed to coronavirus were reported Thursday after posting 27 on Wednesday and 16 on Tuesday. The state total stands at 8,432.

Of the 21 deaths reported Thursday, 19 are from October and two are from September.

The biggest jump in cases on Thursday were in Philadelphia County with 223. Westmoreland County saw the second highest jump with an increase of 148 cases. Allegheny County reported an increase of 139 cases.

The department stated that 240,220 tests were administered within between Oct. 8-14 with 9,370 positive cases. There were 33,839 test results reported to the department through Wednesday.

More than 2.2 million people in the state have been tested for the virus. The overall positivity rate is 7.8%.

The state dashboard shows that there are 799 people currently hospitalized with 94 on ventilators.

According to the state, there are 24,213 resident cases of covid-19 in nursing and personal care homes, and 5,332 cases among employees, for a total of 29,545 at 1,014 distinct facilities.

Out of the total number of deaths, 5,585 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.

Approximately 11,516 of the total cases in the state are among health care workers.

The Department of Health advises that if people have or think they have covid-19, they should stay home and keep away from others.