Centre County remains at 73 COVID-19 cases as Pa. surpasses 32,000 total cases
Centre County remained at 73 positive COVID-19 cases and one death from the virus as of Sunday afternoon, according to the state Department of Health. It is the third straight day there has been no increase in positive cases reported in the county.
The statewide case total increased by 1,215 to 32,284 while the number of deaths rose by 276 to 1,112.
The death toll increase is attributed to electronic and probable-cause deaths now being reporting, according to the state DOH.
“We have been working to reconcile our data with information from several different sources, including our NEDSS reporting system and our county and municipal health departments,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a release. “This is the cause of the increase in deaths we are reporting today. This work takes time and so the increase in deaths today reflects the culmination of that effort, which will continue moving forward. The majority of these deaths did not occur overnight.”
Centre County has had one death attributed to COVID-19 — an 89-year-old man who was a patient at Mount Nittany Medical Center died Thursday. The county’s first case of the virus was announced March 20, two weeks after it first appeared in Pennsylvania. Each of the state’s 67 counties had at least one case by April 7.
The number of Pennsylvanians who have recovered from COVID-19 is unknown because the state Department of Health is not notified when patients are discharged. Worldwide, about 598,000 people have recovered from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus resource center, while about 160,000 have died.
Counties near Centre County have the following number of cases and deaths:
- Blair County: 13 cases, no deaths
- Cambria County: 17 cases, one death
- Clearfield County: 9 cases, no deaths
- Clinton County: 11 cases, no deaths
- Huntingdon County: 12 cases, no deaths
- Juniata County: 66 cases, no deaths
- Mifflin County: 19 cases, no deaths
- Union County: 27 cases, no deaths
According to the Pennsylvania’s hospital preparedness dashboard, 2,635 Pennsylvanians are hospitalized and receiving treatment for the virus. One ventilator in Centre County is being used to treat a patient diagnosed with COVID-19.
People aged 25-49 still represent the largest group of people with the virus in Pennsylvania at 39%. Of those who contract the virus aged 30-49, 5% are hospitalized. People age 65 and up make up 24% of those who contract it, but are hospitalized much more frequently, 20% of the time for those aged 65-79 and 21% for those aged 80+, 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 days or as long as 14 days after exposure.
People who believe they might be sick are encouraged to stay at home except to get medical care. Residents are also urged to call their health care provider before visiting.
“Please stay at home whenever you can, avoid unnecessary social contact and keep washing your hands,” Dr. Brian Newcomb, director of the Mount Nittany Medical Center emergency department, said in a statement last week. “Remember the most vulnerable in our community and how much they’re relying on all of us right now. Practicing social distancing can significantly help to slow the spread of COVID-19. It’s equally important to appreciate that anyone experiencing a health emergency should not delay care and should not hesitate to visit the emergency department. We’re all in this together.”
Those who do go outside are urged to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Using simple cloth face coverings is an important measure everyone should take to slow the spread of coronavirus,” Dr. Paul Guillard of Mount Nittany Physican Group Internal Medicine said in a statement last week. “These coverings or masks, which can be made at home inexpensively from common materials, limit the spread of infectious droplets in the air by containing coughs and sneezes. Because homemade masks protect everyone else from the droplets created by the wearer, it is important that as many people as possible wear these masks when leaving their homes.”
While your face should be covered, it’s important not to use coverings in critical supply that could be used by those battling the virus on the front lines.
“It’s important to note that the cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators,” Guillard said. “Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.”
