Centre County coronavirus cases increase to 3, according to the department of health
Three days after Centre County’s first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed, the total has jumped up to three, according to the state Department of Health on Monday.
Neighboring Cambria County reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Monday, bringing the total number of affected counties up to 34.
“Based on the experience in other areas, we expect the number of patients who are screened, tested and diagnosed to increase over the coming weeks,” said Dr. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer at Mount Nittany Health, on Monday. “We continue to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control for treating any COVID-19 person under investigation or a suspected COVID-19 positive case and preventing the transmission of infection within our facilities.”
No patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 are currently or have been hospitalized at Mount Nittany Medical Center, said spokesperson Anissa Ilie.
Mount Nittany declined to provide any specific information on the three patients who tested positive.
Centre County’s two new cases are part of an additional 165 positive cases reported across the state Monday, bringing Pennsylvania’s total up to 644. So far, six deaths in five counties have been reported in the commonwealth, according to the DOH.
Anyone who believes they came into contact with someone who might have the coronavirus is advised to monitor their health and call their primary care provider if they develop symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms can appear in as few as two or as long as 14 days after exposure.
“It’s essential for everyone to use everyday precautions to stay safe,” said Paul Guillard, a doctor with Mount Nittany Physician Group Internal Medicine. “As a primary care physician, I routinely give my patients several steps to take to help keep themselves, their loved ones and our community healthy and well.”
Guillard, in line with the state DOH and CDC, recommends washing your hands often with soap and water, avoiding touching your eyes, nose, face and mouth with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, staying home if you are sick, except to get medical care and covering your coughs and sneezes.
Mount Nittany will now screen every person who comes through its facilities and stop every vehicle for screening unless it is an emergency vehicle or person headed to the emergency department.
Less than two hours after Centre County’s first confirmed case Friday, Mount Nittany Health announced two patients who were tested within its health system were positive for COVID-19.
It’s unclear where those two patients reside. The DOH website lists cases of COVID-19 according to the county where the tested individual permanently resides, not where they were tested, Ilie said.
A majority of confirmed cases have been reported in five heavily populated southeastern counties — Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia and Montgomery, which has the most confirmed cases (129) in the state.
In a press conference Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a “stay at home” order for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Monroe and Allegheny counties. He said the state is “trying to confine the stay at home order in the places where there’s been an outbreak.” People in those counties, he said, should not leave their homes except to obtain “life-saving” goods or provide essential services.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 12:14 PM.