Centre County has now had 18 COVID-19-related deaths, including 5 last week, coroner confirms

Centre County had five COVID-19 deaths last week, according to Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers, who reported the latest death Sunday.

The death of a 69-year-old man from a long-term care facility in the 16823 ZIP code was reported to Sayers on Saturday night. The man had just been admitted to Mount Nittany Medical Center, according to a news release. Centre County has now had 18 deaths attributed to COVID-19, according to Sayers and data updated Saturday by the state Department of Health.

Three COVID-19 deaths occured Tuesday. A 77-year-old man died at Mount Nittany Medical Center and a 62-year-old long-term care facility resident in the 16801 ZIP code also died. Another Tuesday death was reported to Sayers on Saturday, he said — a 96-year-old woman from a long-term care facility in the 16853 ZIP code.

An 89-year-old woman died Thursday at Mount Nittany Medical Center, which has seen an increase in admissions due to the new coronavirus. The heath care system treated an average of 11 COVID-19 patients per day in October, up from an average of two COVID-19 patients per day in September.

“In the last three weeks, our COVID positive inpatient census has consistently been in the double digits,” Chief Medical Officer Nirmal Joshi said in a statement Friday. “A rise in the number of hospitalized patients is concerning. In addition to using our surge capacity plan, we are also constantly adapting to meet the needs of both COVID-19 positive patients as well as other patients needing care, including those with general medical needs and those scheduled for surgical procedures.”

Centre County added 46 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, the DOH said, to bring the total to 4,272 (4,110 confirmed and 162 probable) since March 20. The state does not provide updates on Sundays.

This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 8:34 AM.