Nov. 18 update: Pa. reports more than 6,000 new cases for 1st time; Centre County adds 89

COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania continue to surge as the state reported more than 6,000 new positives for the first time Wednesday.

The state added a record 6,339 cases to bring the total to 281,852 since March.

There have been 2.61 million negative tests, and an estimated 66% of people have recovered, the Department of Health said.

Centre County’s case total rose to 5,329 after 89 new cases were reported Wednesday. Of the overall case total, 5,068 are confirmed and 261 are probable. There have been 42,126 negative tests.

County Coroner Scott Sayers confirmed six deaths related to COVID-19 on Monday and five more on Tuesday to bring the total to 33. The Health Department lists 25 deaths in the county.

According to the state dashboard, 25 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in the county. Mount Nittany Medical Center is treating 24 patients, who range in age from 30 to 94, a hospital spokesperson said Wednesday.

Hospitalizations also are increasing across the state. There are 2,737 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 579 are in intensive care. Seven days ago, there were 2,080 patients in hospitals statewide and 438 were in intensive care. The Health Department said Wednesday that the 14-day average of hospitalized patients per day has grown by almost 1,600 since the end of September.

The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the DOH:

• 16801 (State College): 2,847 (9 new cases)
• 16802 (University Park): 766 (1 new case)
• 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 409 (35 new cases)
• 16803 (State College): 364 (4 new cases)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 153 (3 new cases)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 99 (11 new cases)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 74 (4 new cases)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 52 (1 new case)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 51 (2 new cases)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 49 (3 new cases)
• 16841 (Howard): 48 (2 new cases)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 33
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 28
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 22 (2 new cases)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 19 (1 new case)
• 16851 (Lemont): 17
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 15 (1 new case)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 15 (2 new cases)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 13
• 16829 (Clarence): 12 (2 new cases)
• 16844 (Julian): 12 (1 new case)
• 16854 (Millheim): 12
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 12
• 16860 (Munson): 10
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 10 (2 new cases)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 9
• 16804 (State College): 7
• 16832 (Coburn): 6
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 6
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 5
• 16835, 16852, 16856, 16859, 16864, 16882: 1-4 cases each

The state does not provide 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.

There have been 9,465 deaths statewide, an increase of 110.

An additional 21 cases were reported Wednesday in residents of long-term care facilities in Centre County. There have been 289 resident cases, 62 employee cases and 29 deaths in 13 facilities in the county.

The number of long-term care facility deaths may not match the total deaths in the county because deaths are counted in a person’s county of permanent residence, the Health Department has said. If someone dies in a long-term care facility in Centre County but has a permanent address in another county, that person would count as a long-term care facility death in Centre County but not in Centre’s total deaths.

Across Pennsylvania, there have been 30,357 resident cases, 6,232 employee cases and 6,157 deaths at 1,171 nursing and personal care homes in 63 counties.

Statewide, the age breakdown of those who tested positive is:

• Approximately 1% are 0-4
• Approximately 2% are 5-12
• Approximately 5% are 13-18
• Approximately 13% are 19-24
• Approximately 36% are 25-49
• Approximately 21% are 50-64
• Nearly 20% are 65 or older

This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 12:04 PM.