March 10 update: Centre County reports 44 COVID-19 cases, more than 700 vaccine doses

Centre County reported 44 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday to raise the total to 13,221. Overall, there have been 12,107 confirmed cases and 1,114 probable cases, along with 62,294 negative tests.

Mount Nittany Medical Center is treating 11 COVID-19 patients between the ages of 43 and 85, a spokesperson said Wednesday. That’s two fewer patients than Tuesday’s update.

Statewide, hospitalizations edged up slightly, with 28 more COVID-19 patients. But that’s a blip in a trend that shows average hospitalizations are down 4,400 from the December peak and are below the high from last spring.

Pennsylvania added 2,594 cases, which brings the total to 955.730. Statewide, there have been 3.96 million negative tests and 91% of people have recovered.

There have been 24,439 deaths, an increase of 43. Centre County’s death total remained at 213.

Statewide, about 81,000 more vaccinations were administered (excluding in Philadelphia and federal prisons and veterans hospitals). There have been 3.13 million doses given to 2.11 million people. One million people have been fully vaccinated, the Health Department said.

In Centre County. an additional 716 vaccinations were administered. Residents have received 29,979 first doses and 16,647 second doses.

Vaccine sites for teachers and other school staff were scheduled to begin operations Wednesday across the state. Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that Pennsylvania would set aside the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for educators.

Locally, Central Intermediate Unit 10 has partnered with the State College Area School District.

The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code, and the change from the previous days (if any), is as follows, according to the Health Department:

• 16801 (State College): 4,696 (-41 on Tuesday; +10 on Wednesday)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 2,220 (+3 on Tuesday; +2 on Wednesday)
• 16803 (State College): 1,160 (+2 on Tuesday; +2 on Wednesday)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 930 (+3 on Tuesday; +1 on Wednesday)
• 16802 (University Park): 869 (+14 on Tuesday; +5 on Wednesday )
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 754 (+2 on Wednesday)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 395 (+1 on Tuesday; +2 on Wednesday)
• 16841 (Howard): 340
• 16845 (Karthaus): 254 (+1 on Tuesday)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 243 (+1 on Tuesday)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 235 (+2 on Tuesday; +5 on Wednesday)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 231 (-1 on Tuesday)
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 174 (+1 on Tuesday; +1 on Wednesday)
• 16844 (Julian): 173 (+1 on Tuesday; +1 on Wednesday)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 151
• 16853 (Milesburg): 116
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 96
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 96 (-1 on Tuesday)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 74 (+1 on Wednesday)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 66
• 16854 (Millheim): 59
• 16829 (Clarence): 56
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 53
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 47 (-1 on Tuesday)
• 16851 (Lemont): 47
• 16859 (Moshannon): 42
• 16856 (Mingoville): 28
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 26 (+1 on Tuesday)
• 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
• 16805 (State College): 1-4 (at least 1 new case Wednesday)

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.

Asked about the change in ZIP code case information on Tuesday, particularly the large decrease seen in 16801, the Health Department said some duplicate cases were being eliminated.

Officials do not comment on specific cases, but the recent case removal ”mostly affected people who have been tested frequently. Additionally, we continue to correct all case information to reflect the county of residence of the individual,” department spokesperson Maggi Barton said Wednesday. “In these instances, these are old cases, not cases that have been reported recently.”

Centre County reported one new case in a nursing/personal care home resident. There have been 711 resident cases, 148 employee cases and 162 deaths in 17 long-term care facilities.

Across Pennsylvania, there have been 68,126 resident cases, 13,560 employee cases and 12,632 resident deaths at 1,560 nursing and personal care homes.

This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 12:29 PM with the headline "March 10 update: Centre County reports 44 COVID-19 cases, more than 700 vaccine doses."