Dec. 31 update: Centre County ends year with 8,977 COVID-19 cases, highest monthly total
Daily COVID-19 cases continue to remain well below 100 in Centre County as 2020 comes to a close.
With 67 new cases Thursday, there have been 8,977 in the county since March 20. Of that total, 8,444 are confirmed and 533 are probable. There have been 52,409 negative tests.
December brought the county’s highest monthly case total due to high daily numbers at the start. There have been 2,590 cases this month. September saw the second highest total at 2,224 cases, with November following at 2,115.
The state Department of Health reported an additional Centre County death to bring the total to 139. The county coroner has confirmed 107 COVID-related deaths.
Pennsylvania added 8,992 cases to end the year with a total of 640,325. The first cases of COVID-19 in the state were reported March 6, while the five highest one-day totals all came in the first two weeks of December. There have been 3.27 million negative tests, and 67% of people have recovered statewide.
While cases have been increasing at a slower rate, deaths remain at record levels statewide. There have been 15,978 fatalities, an increase of 306. Pennsylvania reported a record 319 deaths on Wednesday.
The state’s hospital dashboard, which also includes rehabilitation facilities, shows that 12% of intensive care beds are available across Pennsylvania. There are 5,962 people hospitalized with COVID-19 — almost double the springtime peak — and 1,178 of those patients are in intensive care.
In Centre County, the dashboard shows 61 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with five patients in the ICU and four on ventilators.
The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the Health Department:
- 16801 (State College): 3,430 (4 new cases)
- 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 1,463 (16 new cases)
- 16802 (University Park): 795 (1 new case)
- 16803 (State College): 680 (3 new cases)
- 16686 (Tyrone): 653 (11 new cases)
- 16866 (Philipsburg): 548 (18 new cases)
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 243 (2 new cases)
- 16841 (Howard): 220 (3 new cases)
- 16875 (Spring Mills): 165 (4 new cases)
- 16828 (Centre Hall): 156 (2 new cases)
- 16845 (Karthaus): 130 (1 new case)
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 126
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 118 (2 new cases)
- 16844 (Julian): 88 (2 new cases)
- 16666 (Osceola Mills): 84 (5 new cases)
- 16853 (Milesburg): 74 (1 fewer case)
- 16874 (Snow Shoe): 66 (1 new case)
- 16877 (Warriors Mark): 65
- 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 56
- 16829 (Clarence): 44 (2 new cases)
- 16826 (Blanchard): 43 (1 new case)
- 16872 (Rebersburg): 41 (1 new case)
- 16854 (Millheim): 38
- 16820 (Aaronsburg): 36
- 16851 (Lemont): 34
- 16859 (Moshannon): 26
- 16856 (Mingoville): 23 (1 new case)
- 16832 (Coburn): 20
- 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 16
- 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 14 (1 new case)
- 16852 (Madisonburg): 14 (1 new case)
- 16860 (Munson): 14
- 16804 (State College): 7
- 16835 (Unionville): 6
- 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.
Nine additional cases were reported among long-term care residents in Centre County. There have been 575 resident cases, 127 employee cases and 124 deaths in 16 nursing and personal care homes in the county.
Statewide, there have been 53,220 resident cases, 9,730 employee cases and 8,872 resident deaths at 1,470 long-term care facilities.
More than 115,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given across the state, the Health Department said. In Centre County, 1,650 doses have been administered.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 12:17 PM.