COVID-19 cases trend down while hospitalizations increase across Centre County and PA

COVID-19 cases fell this week while hospitalizations continued to rise in Centre County.

From Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 365 cases were reported, a decrease of 33 from the previous seven days. Daily totals during the week ranged from a low of 20 on Sept. 27 to a high of 80 on Sept. 25.

Overall, there have been 19,389 cases — 17,559 confirmed and 1,830 probable — along with 79,612 negative tests. September ended with 1,658 cases, the highest monthly total since April.

One new death was reported Sept. 25 to bring the county’s total to 235.

As of Oct. 1, Mount Nittany Medical Center was treating 41 COVID patients between ages 21 and 89, with 29 of them not fully vaccinated. Seven COVID patients were in intensive care and six were on ventilators. An 11-year-old was hospitalized with COVID for several days this week, the hospital dashboard showed.

Last month, the hospital treated 136 COVID patients compared to 15 in September 2020, Tiffany Cabibbo, Mount Nittany Health executive vice president, patient care services and chief nursing officer, said in a statement.

The number of COVID patients averaged 35 per day this week, up from 34 during the previous week. Most of them are unvaccinated, Cabibbo said. Appointments for vaccines or Pfizer booster shots can be made with Mount Nittany Health at mountnittany.org/coronavirus.

The picture at Penn State

Over the most recent seven days of data, from Sept. 23-29, Penn State reported 51 cases of COVID-19 — from 36 students and 15 employees. That marks the third straight week the numbers have decreased, as confirmed infections stood at 73 last week.

Based on data from the university’s COVID-19 dashboard, 25 students are in quarantine and isolation, meaning capacity now stands at 11%. And the testing positivity rate over the most recent seven days is at 0.6%.

The situation in PA

The state is also seeing fewer cases but more hospitalizations. From Sept. 25-Oct. 1, there were 32,466 cases statewide, a drop of 113 compared to the previous seven days. Overall, there have been 1,435,292 cases and 5,465,993 negative tests. Across Pennsylvania, 90% of people have recovered.

There have been 29,437 deaths, an increase of 373. The previous week, there were 252 deaths.

As of Oct. 1, there were 2,816 COVID patients across the state, an increase of 175 from the previous Friday.

Vaccine update

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Oct. 1 that 68.9% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated. The state ranks fifth for total doses administered.

Every county in Pennsylvania was under the CDC’s high level of community transmission as of Oct. 1.

In Centre County, the CDC said:

• 62.1% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose with 53.4% fully vaccinated.
• 69.2% of residents 18 and older received at least one dose with 59.5% fully vaccinated.
• 99.9% of residents 65 and older received at least one dose with 90.7% fully vaccinated.

Childhood cases

Cases in Centre County children ages 0-4 doubled from nine during the week of Sept. 15-21 to 18 during the week of Sept. 22-28. There were 78 cases in children ages 5-18 from Sept. 22-28 — that’s three fewer cases than the previous week.

Since the Health Department began tracking cases in children during the 2021-22 school year on Aug. 16, there have been a total of 60 cases in Centre County youngsters ages 0-4 and 401 cases in those ages 5-18.

These cases may not necessarily have stemmed from an exposure in school or child care, the Health Department said: “The location of exposure cannot be determined but may have occurred in a variety of settings including the community, household/family, or the school setting.”

Statewide, the number of COVID cases in children ages 5-18 is almost 10 times higher than it was at this time last year. From Sept. 22-28, 2020, there were 745 cases; during the same week this year, there were 7,352, the Health Department said.

Testing site open through October

The state, through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, continues to operate a free indoor walk-in COVID testing site in Centre County. Testing is offered 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday through Oct. 31 at the former Sears Auto Center at the Nittany Mall.

“We encourage anyone who feels they need or want a test, especially if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms, to take advantage of the free COVID-19 testing closest to them,” acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said in a statement. “This includes fully vaccinated individuals who are experiencing symptoms.”

Officials also advised people to isolate if they test positive even if they don’t show any symptoms.

This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 7:24 AM with the headline "COVID-19 cases trend down while hospitalizations increase across Centre County and PA."