While new reported COVID cases fall in PA, hospitalizations tick up. See latest CDC map
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania rose the week of Christmas, even as the number of reported new cases fell.
That’s according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which indicated 12,623 new confirmed cases for the reporting week running Dec. 21 to Dec. 27. The prior week, the state reported more than 14,000 new cases.
The number hospitalized with and for treatment reached 1,531 as of Wednesday, when the state updates its COVID-19 dashboard. That’s 202 more than the prior week. Patients in adult intensive care units fell slightly, from 170 to 162, and the number on ventilators ticked up, from 75 last week to 81.
More than 35,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID as of Friday, according to the CDC. The U.S. has a daily average of more than 5,500 such admissions.
In addition to the climbing hospitalizations in Pennsylvania, 94 new COVID-19 deaths were reported this week, bringing the death toll in the Keystone State to 48,892.
Across the U.S. more than 1,091,000 people have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins.
COVID-19 in Pennsylvania
Similar to the week before, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scored just one Pennsylvania county at a high COVID-19 community level as of Thursday: Mercer County, which has remained at that level for several weeks.
In counties where the community level is high, the CDC recommends masking in public, indoor places, including public transportation.
The number of counties slightly elevated and scored at medium increased over the previous week, growing to 31 from 28. While concentrated on the eastern half of the state last week, the counties at medium now stretch across the state to the southwest corner.
The CDC uses data from state health officials each Thursday to update its community levels. They are determined using new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 people (seven-day totals) and the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-positive patients (a seven-day average).
Like positivity rates, data on new cases often does not include individuals who test positive at home.
The number of counties at a low community level in Pennsylvania was 35 as of Dec. 29.
COVID-19 in Centre County
While the number of counties with elevated COVID levels grew slightly over the previous week, Centre County remains at a low level as of Thursday.
The CDC reports 116 new cases there, a decline from the prior week, but a positivity rate of 11.46%, a jump of around 2%.
Mount Nittany Health reports 16 individuals hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection in the facility as of Thursday. Those patients range in age from 44 to 97.
The CDC reports 76.7% of Pennsylvanians ages 5 and older have completed their primary vaccine series, but only 17% have gotten boosted through the bivalent booster shot.
To find a free COVID-19 shot near you, visit vaccines.gov.