28 Pennsylvania counties at medium COVID community level as state surpasses 50K deaths

The number of new reported cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania ticked up again this week, and though no counties are at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s high community level, the number at medium has grown.

Additionally, in a grim milestone, Pennsylvania surpassed 50,000 recorded COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic.

In its Feb. 15 update, the Pennsylvania Department of Health recorded 11,041 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. That’s an slight increase over the prior week’s 10,936.

To date, the state reports more than 3.5 million confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. Reported cases are an undercount, however, as the weekly data do not include positive test results from at-home kits or those not reported to state health officials.

Deaths in the commonwealth are also up just slightly, by 134 in the latest reporting week, which ran Feb. 8 to 14, for a total of 50,055.

Hospitalizations, including those for the most severe cases, are improving, however. The state reported a drop in the total number of individuals hospitalized, from 1,180 last week to 1,152 as of Wednesday.

The number of individuals in adult intensive care units also fell to 110, with 47 patients on ventilators.

The CDC reports a rolling, seven-day average of 161.29 new hospital admissions per day in the commonwealth.

COVID-19 community levels in Pennsylvania

For the third straight week, the CDC rated zero Pennsylvania counties at its high COVID-19 community level.

The metric, updated each Thursday for all U.S. counties, takes into account weekly totals of new cases and hospital admissions, as well as the seven-day average of the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Under the federal agency’s reduced masking guidance, in counties at high, the CDC recommends masking indoor, public places. At the medium level, those at greater risk for severe illness should also consider masking and other precautions.

The number of counties at the medium level in Pennsylvania jumped this week from 20 to 28, while 39 others are at low.

COVID-19 in Centre County

Once again, Centre County remains at a low community level, though several adjacent counties are at medium, including Clinton, Union and Snyder.

The CDC reports 154 new cases in Centre County over its latest reporting week, along with a weekly case rate of 94.84 per 100,000 people. The positivity rate in the county is at 11.77%, up very slightly from the previous week.

Twelve patients were hospitalized at Mount Nittany Health as of Friday, according the hospital’s COVID-19 dashboard, down from a high of 15 Wednesday. They range in age from younger than 1 to 98, and none are in ICU or on ventilators.

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