Here’s a look at how COVID is affecting Centre County and Pennsylvania this week

COVID-19 cases slowed in Centre County this week as the overall total passed the 20,000 mark.

There were 329 cases Oct. 9-15, 51 fewer than the previous seven days. The week’s daily totals ranged from a low of 12 on Oct. 11 to a high of 79 on Oct. 9.

As of Oct. 15, the county has reported a total of 20,098 cases — 18,184 confirmed and 1,914 probable — along with 81,208 negative tests.

The state Health Department reported four deaths on Oct. 13 to bring the county’s total to 241.

Mount Nittany Medical Center was treating 33 COVID-19 patients between ages 25 and 94 on Oct. 15. Two patients were in intensive care and two were on ventilators, according to Mount Nittany Health’s dashboard. Of the 33 patients, 27 were not vaccinated.

Mount Nittany’s COVID patient totals ranged from 30 to 39 between Oct. 11 and 15. Mount Nittany Health on Oct. 14 warned of the strain caused by the pandemic on local and regional health care systems.

Detailing the county’s cases

The Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap area once again added the most cases to the county’s total this week. The highest total was in the 16823 ZIP code, followed by 16801.

Benner and Rockview state prisons reported no active cases among inmates, the state Department of Corrections dashboard showed.

Here’s a breakdown of the total number of confirmed cases in each ZIP code that is partially or fully in Centre County, according to the state Health Department. The number of cases reported between Oct. 8 and 15 is in parentheses.

Cases fall, deaths rise in PA

From Oct. 9-15, Pennsylvania added 32,277 cases, a decrease of 2,278 from the previous week. Daily totals ranged from a low of 2,872 on Oct. 11 to a high of 5,725 on Oct. 15.

In all, there have been 1,502,124 cases along with 5,600,744 negative tests. Statewide, 90% of people have recovered.

There have been 30,418 deaths, an increase of 511. The week before, there were 470 deaths.

The number of hospitalizations peaked at 3,031 on Oct. 13 before ending the week at 2,946. That’s 16 more patients than the previous Friday.

Vaccine rates inch up

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to classify every county in Pennsylvania in the high level of community transmission.

The CDC said as of Oct. 15 that 70.1% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated. (The previous Friday, the percentage was 69.6%.)

CDC figures show that in Centre County:

• 63.5% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose with 54.1% fully vaccinated. (Last week’s percentages were 62.9% and 53.9%, respectively.)
• 70.8% of those 18 and older received at least one dose with 60.3% fully vaccinated. (Last week’s percentages were 70.1% and 60%, respectively.)
• 99.9% of those 65 and older received at least one dose with 91.6% fully vaccinated. (Last week’s percentages were 99.9% and 91.2%, respectively.)

Childhood cases rise

Cases in Centre County children ages 0-4 fell by half to nine during the period Oct. 6-12, the Department of Health said. Cases in Centre County children ages 5-18 rose to 72, an increase of seven from the previous week. Since the state began tracking cases for the 2021-22 school year on Aug. 16, there have been a total of 87 cases in Centre County children 0-4 and 538 cases in children 5-18.

These cases may not have been exposed in school or child care and could have occurred at home or in the community, the Health Department said.

Across Pennsylvania, cases in children ages 5-18 are almost six times higher than they were a year ago, the state said. From Oct. 6-12, there were 6,433 cases in that age group compared to 1,101 during the same week in 2020.

This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s a look at how COVID is affecting Centre County and Pennsylvania this week."