March 27 update: ‘Technical issues’ lead to inaccurate COVID-19 data, state Department of Health says
Editor’s note: The state Department of Health issued a news release Saturday evening about “technical issues” causing a delay in weekend data. A department spokesperson said Sunday morning that the state’s dashboard, which was used for the information in this original story, is not accurate, and full weekend data will be released at noon Monday. This story has been updated.
Centre County and Pennsylvania on Saturday reported the highest single-day COVID-19 totals since late January, but the state Department of Health later said the numbers are not accurate.
According to the Health Department’s dashboard, Centre County added 181 coronavirus cases Saturday, bringing the overall total to 14,406 cases (13,090 confirmed and 1,316 probable) along with 64,540 negative tests. The Health Department also reported 7,132 new COVID-19 cases statewide Saturday, the highest one-day total since Jan. 29.
In a news release issued at about 7 p.m. Saturday — about seven hours after the state’s dashboard updated with new totals — the Health Department said that “technical issues” will cause a delay in weekend data. The COVID Alert PA app may be displaying case data with Saturday’s date in error, the DOH said.
A department spokesperson clarified Sunday morning that numbers on the state’s dashboard were not accurate. Only case numbers were affected, a spokesperson said. Full COVID-19 data for the weekend will be updated at noon Monday.
Case and hospitalizations have risen locally, Tiffany Cabibbo, Mount Nittany Health’s executive vice president of patient care services/chief nursing officer, said Friday in the health system’s weekly update. The hospital has seen a daily average of 17 COVID-19 inpatients this month.
“We are seeing our highest number of COVID-19 patients in six weeks, and (it) is a trend that has us highly concerned,” Cabibbo said.
In a press conference held Friday, community leaders also expressed concern while announcing that B.1.1.7, also known as the “U.K. variant,” has been detected in the county.
“Even though a lot of things are now allowed, I would caution everybody to be extra cautious about any interactions that involve individuals outside your immediate household, your immediate family or your immediate pod,” Penn State’s Matthew Ferrari, director at the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, said Friday.
Centre County’s testing positivity rate this week was 9.2% — an increase from last week’s 7.2%, which was an increase from the previous week’s 4.4%.
Across the state, 4.84 million vaccinations have been administered (excluding Philadelphia and federal facilities). There have been 3.14 million partial vaccinations and 1.70 million full vaccinations administered, according to the updated dashboard from the Health Department Saturday.
Centre County residents have received 67,452 vaccinations, an increase of 1,624. There have been 41,600 partial vaccinations and 25,852 full vaccinations given.
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "March 27 update: ‘Technical issues’ lead to inaccurate COVID-19 data, state Department of Health says."