April 1 update: COVID-19 cases fall in Centre County as hospitalizations rise across Pa.

COVID-19 cases fell dramatically in Centre County on Thursday, with just 24 new positives. That’s the lowest one-day total since March 22 (excluding this past weekend, when the state did not report daily totals).

The county has had 14,621 cases — 13,340 confirmed and 1,281 probable — along with 65,049 negative tests.

Pennsylvania added 3,893 cases to bring the total to 1,028,750. There have been 4.14 million negative tests and 91% of people have recovered statewide.

Statewide, an additional 154,706 vaccinations were administered (not including Philadelphia and federal facilities). A total of 5.31 million vaccinations have been given. First doses have been administered to 32% of the eligible population, which is 3 points above the national average, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Wednesday saw the highest daily number of partial vaccinations in Centre County at 1,671. Overall, residents received an additional 2,111 doses to bring the total to 72,096. There have been 45,257 partial vaccinations and 26,839 full vaccinations given to 45,572 people.

Mount Nittany Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Upendra Thaker said Thursday that Mount Nittany Health has given almost 29,000 vaccinations and is “pleased” by Wednesday’s announcement of an acceleration of the state’s vaccine program.

Hospitalizations continue to rise across Pennsylvania, with almost 100 more COVID-19 patients reported Thursday.

Things are similar in Centre County, where Mount Nittany is treating 27 COVID-19 patients between the ages of 28 and 90, Thaker said. Thaker noted that increasing cases in recent weeks have led to a rise in hospitalizations in the community. There were a total of 124 COVID patients with a median age of 63 last month — 72 people were hospitalized just in the second half of March.

Thaker said Mount Nittany is monitoring the COVID situation both in the community and the health system and will adjust services if necessary, including rescheduling nonessential surgeries and procedures.

“While we are taking big steps forward in our fight against COVID-19, we are not done. Each of us at Mount Nittany Health ask that you please help us by continuing to avoid social gatherings, keep wearing your masks and frequently wash your hands,” Thaker said. “These measures have been proven to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and we need the entire community to do its part. We must be in this together.”

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): 5,085 (+5)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 2,382 (+5)
• 16803 (State College): 1,276 (+1)
• 16802 (University Park): 1,167 (+1)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 963 (+5)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 792 (+2)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 448 (+1)
• 16841 (Howard): 363 (+1)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 263 (+1)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 262 (+2)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 259
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 250
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 186
• 16844 (Julian): 183
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 178 (+4)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 121
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 104 (+1)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 97
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 78
• 16826 (Blanchard): 73 (+1)
• 16829 (Clarence): 63
• 16854 (Millheim): 63 (+2)
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 61
• 16851 (Lemont): 55
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 48
• 16859 (Moshannon): 42
• 16856 (Mingoville): 29
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 27
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 26
• 16832 (Coburn): 25
• 16860 (Munson): 24 (+1)
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 17
• 16864 (Orviston): 13
• 16835 (Unionville): 11
• 16804 (State College): 10
• 16882 (Woodward): 8
• 16805 (State College): 1-4

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 were 27 new deaths across the state, which brings the total to 25,120. Centre County’s total remained at 213.

The Health Department removed one resident case from Centre County’s long-term care facility data. There have been 722 resident cases, 154 employee cases and 162 deaths in 18 nursing/personal care homes in the county.

This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 12:17 PM with the headline "April 1 update: COVID-19 cases fall in Centre County as hospitalizations rise across Pa.."