March 6 update: 1 year after first COVID-19 cases, Pa. has seen 946,985 cases, 24,317 deaths
One year since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Pennsylvania, the state has had 946,985 cases and 24,317 deaths, as Gov. Tom Wolf assured that the commonwealth is “headed toward a brighter future.”
“We lost far too many friends, far too many neighbors and far too many loved ones, but I am so proud of how Pennsylvanians have worked together to make it through the unthinkable,” Wolf said Saturday in a video address.
While acknowledging a year full of “unimaginable loss,” the governor also encouraged residents to have hope, with more than 2.8 million vaccinations administered across the state.
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel as vaccine production and distribution increase ... a brighter future is on the horizon,” he said.
March 20 will mark one year since Centre County’s first confirmed case. On Saturday, the county added 42 cases to bring its total to 13,135 — 12,054 confirmed and 1,081 probable. There have been 213 deaths, an increase of two from Friday.
The state added 2,789 cases Saturday and 55 deaths.
According to the state Department of Health’s hospitalization dashboard, there are 14 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Centre County. Mount Nittany Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi said in a statement Friday that the hospital has seen an average of 15 COVID-19 patients per day in March. There were an average of 18 patients per day in February and 41 in January.
“While hospitalizations are down, we continue to stress the absolute necessity of consistent, continued adherence to COVID safety protocols,” Joshi said. “This includes masking, avoiding large gatherings, social distancing and frequent hand washing.”
Centre County residents have received 28,506 first doses and 14,932 second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code, and the change from the previous day (if any), is as follows, according to the Health Department:
- 16801 (State College): 4,734 4,721 (+13)
- 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 2,214 (+3)
- 16803 (State College): 1,149 (+8)
- 16686 (Tyrone): 928 (+2)
- 16802 (University Park): 838 (+3)
- 16866 (Philipsburg): 747 (+1)
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 389
- 16841 (Howard): 337 (+2)
- 16845 (Karthaus): 255
- 16828 (Centre Hall): 242 (+2)
- 16875 (Spring Mills): 232
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 226 (+1)
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 172
- 16844 (Julian): 169
- 16666 (Osceola Mills): 151 (+1)
- 16853 (Milesburg): 116 (+1)
- 16877 (Warriors Mark): 97 (+2)
- 16874 (Snow Shoe): 94
- 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 73
- 16826 (Blanchard): 66
- 16854 (Millheim): 59
- 16829 (Clarence): 56 (+1)
- 16872 (Rebersburg): 53
- 16820 (Aaronsburg): 48
- 16851 (Lemont): 47
- 16859 (Moshannon): 42
- 16856 (Mingoville): 28
- 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 25
- 16832 (Coburn): 24
- 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 22
- 16860 (Munson): 20
- 16852 (Madisonburg): 17
- 16864 (Orviston): 13
- 16835 (Unionville): 11
- 16804 (State College): 8
- 16882 (Woodward): 8
The state does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 12:47 PM.
