Seventeen more people died from coronavirus in Pennsylvania, state health officials said Monday, and the total case count now tops 24,000.

The death toll, which includes two new deaths in Allegheny County, stands at 524. Officials said one inmate from SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County died.

About 1,179 health care workers tested positive, and 1,688 cases are spread across 215 nursing homes statewide.

As of about 4 p.m., 2,238 covid-19 patients were hospitalized, and 669 of them were on breathing machines.

The 1,366 newly identified cases of covid-19 bring the state’s running total to 24,199, according to data from the Department of Health.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine noted the slowing growth of the new cases but warned residents not to become complacent.

“It really could be much, much worse,” she said during her daily virtual news conference. “Social distancing works, and the closures are saving lives in Pennsylvania.”

The number of new cases fell over the past several days, but she said officials do not believe the state has hit its peak; rather, there has just been a plateau in the number of new cases.

She also said there is not magic number the state will need to reach before social distancing guidelines can be relaxed.

“It’s not a number, it’s a trend,” she said, saying that to reopen the state now “would be a mistake that would cost lives.”

Across the state, nearly 105,600 people have been tested for the virus and found negative. Levine said this number is important because officials are watching those percentages to get an indication of how prevalent the virus is in the state despite not being able to test everyone.

Other Southwestern counties saw a slight bump in the number of new cases, though Levine cautioned that data reported on Mondays does not always include a full count of cases and deaths over the weekend.

Armstrong, Somerset and Washington counties each reported one new case of the virus, and Fayette and Indiana each added three.

Westmoreland County reported five new cases, while the state’s official death count in the county was six. The coroner’s website was reporting 12 covid-19 deaths as of 11 p.m. Saturday.

Levine said Monday she was unaware of this discrepancy, and she would have her team “reach out and clarify.”

Age breakdown of positive cases:

0-4: ​< 1%

​5-12: ​< 1%

​13-18: ​1%

​19-24: 6%

​25-49: ​41%

​50-64: ​29%

​65+: ​21%

Age breakdown of hospitalizations:

​0-4: ​< 1%

​5-12: ​< 1%

​13-18: ​< 1%

​19-24: 1%

​25-49: 19%

​50-64: ​29%

​65+: ​51%

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