Centre County adds 5 new COVID-19 cases, 1 unconfirmed death as Pa. nears 67K total cases
Centre County reported a new COVID-19 death Saturday, according to the state Department of Health, but the coroner’s office said it received no such death certificate and could not confirm that report.
Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers, who has confirmed previous coronavirus deaths to the Centre Daily Times, said Saturday afternoon that he’s been on call since Wednesday and has received no such notifications. While the state is now reporting six total COVID-19 deaths in Centre County, Sayers said his office has still confirmed just five.
It’s unknown exactly how, or why, there’s a disparity in the data. But, over the last two months, the state DOH has twice reported deaths that the coroner’s office has been unable to corroborate — and, both times, the DOH has amended its death totals at a later date and eliminated the unconfirmed deaths. It’s unclear if that’s the case again.
The state Department of Heath counts COVID-19 deaths toward the individual’s county of residence, meaning a Centre County resident who dies elsewhere would still appear in the county’s total.
When it comes to total coronavirus cases, the county added five new cases Saturday to boost its overall total to 143. That means the county has had about 15 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, which remains well within the state’s target goal of having 50 such cases or fewer.
As a result of that, along with other criteria, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday night on Twitter that Centre County would move into the “green phase,” the least-restrictive phase of his reopening plan, on June 5.
The governor initially recommended the county be among the first to move to green May 29, but two county commissioners requested the county stay in the yellow for another week due to concerns stemming from primary Election Day on June 2.
“Local officials in Centre County said they didn’t feel that Centre County was ready to move, so we honored their request that they not move into the green,” Wolf said during a press conference Friday afternoon. “I think they’ve done a phenomenal job ... yet they don’t feel they’re ready. And we were sensitive to their request.”
Statewide, the numbers continue to rise — but the rate of confirmed positive cases has slowed. As of noon Saturday, there are now 66,983 total cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, meaning 725 cases are new. That marks the 13th straight day that single-day increases have been below 1,000 — a considerable decrease from the April 9 peak of 1,989 new cases.
It is unknown exactly how many Pennsylvanians, or Centre County residents, have recovered from the coronavirus because the state Department of Health doesn’t receive reports when patients are discharged. However, the state is now estimating recoveries by counting those who have survived 30 days past their first positive tests — and, according to that data, 59% of patients in the state have recovered.
Those numbers match the same reported by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, which measured those recovered in the commonwealth Saturday morning at 37,767.
Locally, every county surrounding Centre County now has at least 34 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Totals from nearby counties are as follows:
- Blair County: 46 (1 death)
- Cambria County: 56 (2 deaths)
- Clearfield County: 34 (0 deaths)
- Clinton County: 49 (1 death)
- Huntingdon County: 227 (1 death)
- Juniata County: 94 (4 deaths)
- Mifflin County: 57 (1 death)
- Union County: 52 (1 death)
In Centre County, here’s the breakdown by ZIP code (those without cases are not listed):
- 16823 (Bellefonte, Milesburg and Pleasant Gap): 39
- 16801 (State College): 31
16803 (State College): 21
16827 (Boalsburg): 9
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 8
- 16686 (Tyrone): 6
16666, 16841, 16866, 16844, 16828, 16852, 16822: 1-4 cases each (Specific numbers not available)
The statewide death toll from the virus also rose Saturday, increasing by 112 to 5,096 total. So far, five total COVID-19 deaths have been confirmed in Centre County — an 89-year-old man on April 16, a 96-year-old man May 8, an 89-year-old woman May 9, a 74-year-old man May 12 and an 88-year-old woman May 13, according to the Centre County Coroner’s Office.
According to the state Department of Health, about 37% of positive cases in the state involve someone aged 25-49, followed by those 65 and older (29%) and those aged 50-64 (25%). Hospitalizations follow a similar trend: Those 65 and older account for 57% of hospitalizations, followed by the 50-64 age group (26%) and the 25-49 age group (16%).
According to the state’s hospital preparedness dashboard, one COVID-19 patient (and three non-COVID-19 patients) in the county are on ventilator care. Dr. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer for Mount Nittany Health, told the CDT last month that the hospital can provide ventilator care for up to 40 patients.
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. The most well-known symptoms are cough and shortness of breath — but can also include the presence of at least two of the following: fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste/smell.
Symptoms can appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure, according to the CDC.
Those 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. And those who do venture out are urged to wear masks.
“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Saturday in a written statement. “We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our health care workers and our first responders.”
The state updates its county-by-county coronavirus numbers at noon every day.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
