Centre County again reports record number of COVID-19 cases
Centre County added 212 cases of the new coronavirus Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health, a single-day record.
The county has reported 963 cases of COVID-19 in September, more than in March through August combined. Of the county’s 1,449 total cases, about two-thirds have been reported in September.
The sharp increase in cases has not led to a surge in hospitalizations, Mount Nittany Health spokesperson Anissa Ilie said Tuesday. Two patients are being treated for COVID-19 at Mount Nittany Medical Center as of Tuesday.
Nearly all of the new cases were reported in State College and University Park ZIP codes. All cases reported Tuesday were confirmed.
Penn State announced 458 new cases on Tuesday. Of those cases, 100 were reported since Friday. The rest were pending from Sept. 4-10. There have now been 1,146 COVID-19 cases among students and staff at University Park.
“We know that congregation, especially in college and university settings, yields increased case counts,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said in a written statement. “The mitigation efforts in place now are essential to flattening the curve and saving lives.”
About 21,233 negative tests have been administered in Centre County, an increase of 857 since Monday.
The breakdown of Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the DOH:
- 16801 (State College): 818 confirmed (168 new cases), 24 probable
- 16802 (University Park): 180 (25 new cases), 0 probable
- 16803 (State College): 94 (8 new cases), 6 probable
- 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 80 (1 case removed), 7 probable
- 16686 (Tyrone): 34 (1 new case), 1-4 probable
- 16866 (Philipsburg): 26, 1-4 probable
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 25, 0 probable
- 16841 (Howard): 25 (1 new case), 1-4 probable
- 16875 (Spring Mills): 25 (1 new case), 0 probable
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 24 (1 new case), 1-4 probable
- 16828 (Centre Hall): 14, 1-4 probable
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 12, 0 probable
- 16666 (Osceola Mills): 8, 1-4 probable
- 16851 (Lemont): 7, 0 probable
16853 (Milesburg): 7, 0 probable
- 16844 (Julian): 6, 0 probable
- 16854 (Millheim): 6, 1-4 probable
- 16877 (Warriors Mark): 5, 0 probable
- 16820 (Aaronsburg): 5, 1-4 probable
- 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 5, 0 probable
- 16804, 16829, 16832, 16845, 16852, 16860, 16868, 16872, 16874, 16882: 1-4 cases each
The state does not give specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy, and does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.
The Keystone State added 1,151 cases Tuesday, which brought the statewide total to 146,214. An estimated 82% of patients recovered statewide.
About 7,875 deaths attributed to COVID-19 have been reported in Pennsylvania, an increase of six since Monday. About two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania have been reported in nursing or personal care facilities.
Eleven deaths attributed to COVID-19 have been reported in Centre County by the state Health Department, though the county coroner’s office has reported seven.
About 37 residents and 23 employees across eight facilities have tested positive in Centre County, according to the DOH.
Centre County had the highest incidence rate in the state by far as of Friday, according to the state’s early warning dashboard. About 255 cases per 100,000 residents were reported in Centre County from Sept. 4-10.
Columbia and Montour counties had the second-highest incidence rate at about 82.5 cases per 100,000.
Centre County’s testing positivity rate as of Friday was about 9.2%, the fourth-highest rate in the state. Columbia County had the highest testing positivity rate at 13.4%.
Reporter Parth Upadhyaya contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 12:32 PM.