PA reports fewer new COVID-19 cases this week. Here’s where the CDC recommends a mask
Pennsylvania reported 18,264 new cases of COVID-19 over the last week, the lowest number in more than a month.
The state’s Department of Health has reported 20,000 or more new cases of the virus per week to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since at least July 25.
The positivity rate for the week ending Aug. 29 remains in the range of 15% to 19.9%, per the CDC.
The number of Pennsylvania counties considered at a high COVID-19 community level fell this week, however. The CDC scored 10 counties at high levels, down from 12 last week.
The metric takes into account new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 individuals, as well as the percent of staffed beds open to care for COVID-19 patients.
Counties scored at high as of the CDC’s weekly Thursday update are Mercer, Clarion, Armstrong, Washington, Fayette, Fulton, Mifflin, Juniata, Northumberland and Bradford.
A number of the counties remains at the medium level.
In counties the CDC marks as high, federal health officials continue to recommend masking in public, indoor places. For those at severe risk of serious illness, masking at medium level is recommended.
Regardless of community level, the CDC encourages staying up to date on vaccinations and getting tested if you have symptoms.
COVID-19 in the U.S.
A declining number of new cases in Pennsylvania comes as federal officials look to expand eligibility for second boosters.
On Thursday, the CDC recommended individuals in the U.S. ages 12 and older be eligible for a second round of COVID-19 boosters, this time with an updated formula. The recommendation follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Wednesday authorization of two updated vaccines, one from Pfizer-BioNTech and the other from Moderna.
The Moderna jab was recommended only for those ages 18 and older.
The companies reformulated the vaccines to better protect against various strains of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has shown greater resistance to the initial shots.
The federal government is also winding down its free home test kits by mail program. As of Friday, Americans can no longer request the kits be mailed to their home, free of charge.
There have been more than 94.6 million cases of COVID in the U.S., and more than 1 million deaths.
COVID-19 in Pennsylvania
As for the Keystone State, the state health agency has recorded more than 3.1 million confirmed and probable cases since the onset of the pandemic, with 46,716 deaths.
In the last seven days, the state has reported 120 new deaths, per the CDC, a jump from the 102 deaths reported for the prior period.
About 70.5% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and 87.6% have received at least one dose.
COVID-19 in Centre County
Under the Thursday update, Centre County remains at a low COVID-19 community level for the second week running, with 309 new cases reported there.
The positivity rate jumped from 16.92% to 19.12% as of Monday, with more than 1,700 recorded tests performed.
In State College, Penn State officials have expanded isolation space for on-campus students in the expectation of a rise in cases at the university.
Centre County residents are vaccinated at lower rate than the rest of the state, with 61.2% of people there fully immunized.
You can find a vaccination site near you to get your free shot by using vaccines.gov.