Centre County back at a low COVID community level. Here are the 14 PA counties at high
As of Friday morning, 14 Pennsylvania counties were marked high under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest update to its COVID-19 community level guidance.
That’s a total increase of just one county over the previous week, though the counties now considered at a high level differ.
Centre County, which had moved from low to medium last week, was downgraded once more to the low level.
The update comes as the Pennsylvania Department of Health reports nearly 25,000 new cases over the last week, per the federal health agency. The CDC’s community levels guidance is aimed to give individual areas recommendations regarding public health measures and the spread of COVID-19.
The 14 counties at a high level Friday are Forest, Mercer, Butler, Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Mifflin, Sullivan, Montour, Northumberland, Lebanon, Monroe and Philadelphia.
Mercer, Fayette, Washington and Montour counties have been scored high three weeks running.
Meanwhile Greene, Huntingdon, Juniata, Fulton, Franklin — all high last week — were downgraded to medium. Clearfield County, which was also high as of July 29, has moved to low.
In areas scored high, the CDC recommends individuals wear a mask in public, indoor spaces. At a medium level, masking and other safety measures are suggested for those at high risk.
In all U.S. counties the CDC recommends vaccinations and boosters, as well as testing if you show symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Those who test positive should mask in public if they go out.
The community levels are calculated weekly for all counties based on new cases and hospital admissions per 100,000 people (a seven-day total) and percent of staffed, occupied COVID-19 hospital beds (a seven-day average).
A separate metric, community transmission, is based on new cases per 100,000 people and the percentage of positive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), both over the last seven days. Friday’s update shows all Pennsylvania counties except one are at a high level of community transmission.
That county, McKean, is at the next highest level, substantial.
COVID-19 in Pennsylvania
The state reported 24,748 cases over the last seven days, that’s up from 22,277 the week prior.
During the same period, the state was reporting 98 COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania, along with a positivity rate between 15% and 19.9%. The seven-day rolling average for hospital admissions was 193.71.
Nearly 1,200 Pennsylvanians were reportedly hospitalized for treatment.
As of Aug. 3, the state had recorded 2.56 million cases since the onset of the pandemic and 46,261 deaths.
COVID-19 in Centre County
Back at a low community level, Centre County reported 270 new cases of the virus, according to the CDC.
The case rate for the area was 166.27 and the positivity rate was 14.77%, down considerably from the week prior.
Get vaccinated
The CDC reports 99,030 Centre County residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, or 61% of the population.
That compares to a statewide vaccination rate of 74.1% of those older than age 5.
To find a vaccine site near you, visit vaccines.gov.