Centre County COVID-19 cases reach highs last seen in April as 1 new death reported

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued on their upward trend this week in Centre County.

Between last Saturday and Friday, 258 new cases were reported. That’s 78 more than the previous seven days. Daily case totals peaked at 57 on Thursday, a high last seen in late April.

Overall, there have been 17,814 cases — 16,154 confirmed and 1,660 probable — along with 75,727 negative tests.

The county added a death Tuesday to bring the total to 231. There were a total of three deaths in August, according to the state Health Department.

On Thursday, the state opened the local COVID-19 testing site at a new location, the former Sears Auto Center at the Nittany Mall. Testing is available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the free, indoor walk-in location.

Patients increase at Mount Nittany

The number of COVID patients almost doubled between July and August at Mount Nittany Medical Center, officials said Friday.

In July, there were a total of 37 COVID patients with an average daily count of six. In August, there were 69 patients with an average daily count of 14.

Since Aug. 22, the daily average of COVID patients has risen to 19, said Tiffany Cabibbo, chief nursing officer and executive vice president, patient care services for Mount Nittany Health. The increase in patients has led the health care system “to adjust our operations to meet the needs of the community,” Cabibbo said in a statement, by rescheduling some surgical procedures and restricting visitors.

The picture at PSU

Over the most recent seven days of data, from Aug. 26 to Wednesday, Penn State reported 99 cases of COVID-19 — from 95 students and four employees. Those numbers still compare favorably to this time last year, when there were 362 positives between Aug. 28 and Sept. 3.

Based on data from the university’s COVID-19 dashboard, 41 students are in quarantine and isolation, meaning capacity stands at 17%. And the testing positivity rate over the most recent seven days is at 1.2%

Vaccines offered locally

Mount Nittany Health and Centre Volunteers in Medicine are offering a third vaccine dose to patients who have compromised immune systems, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Both organizations continue to offer first and second doses to those 12 and older.

Visit mountnittany.org/coronavirus to make an appointment or cvim.net for walk-in clinic times. Mount Nittany is offering the Pfizer vaccine while CVIM is offering Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Centre County residents have received 158,497 doses — 80,695 full and 77,802 partial. During the past seven days, 1,271 doses were given; that’s 44 fewer than the previous week.

“The COVID vaccine is highly effective and our best defense against the transmission of COVID in our community,” Cabibbo said. “We strongly encourage everyone to receive it.” Mount Nittany Health officials also reminded community members to continue following safety measures such as social distancing, avoiding large groups, masking and washing hands often, as “the (d)elta variant is highly contagious.”

The entire state of Pennsylvania is in the CDC’s high level of community transmission as of Friday. The CDC also said that in Centre County:

• 59.9% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose with 51.6% fully vaccinated.
• 66.8% of those 18 and older received at least one dose with 57.5% fully vaccinated.
• 100% of residents 65 and older received at least one dose with 89% fully vaccinated. Centre and Berks are the first two counties in the state to reach 100% in this demographic.

Cases on the rise in PA

Pennsylvania reported 23,681 new cases between last Saturday and Friday. The week before, the state reported 20,911 new cases along with 5,227 cases dating back to the start of the pandemic.

Daily cases this week reached a high of 4,816 on Thursday, a level not seen since mid-April.

Overall, there have been 1,311,722 cases along with 5,172,474 negative tests. Statewide, 93% of people have recovered.

An additional 172 deaths were reported across Pennsylvania, to bring the total to 28,352. Last week, there were 121 fatalities.

The number of hospitalizations reached its highest level since May. There were 1,928 hospitalized patients across the state as of Friday, an increase of 1,260 in the past month.

Across Pennsylvania, 12,239,564 vaccine doses have been given as of Friday with 5,992,224 people fully vaccinated. Those numbers exclude Philadelphia. An average of 17,800 people were vaccinated each day this week, an increase of 200 from the previous seven days.

As of Friday, Pennsylvania ranks fifth among the states for total doses given, according to the CDC, and 66.3% of residents 18 and older are fully vaccinated. CDC figures cover all 67 counties in the state.

This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Centre County COVID-19 cases reach highs last seen in April as 1 new death reported."