Centre County sees slight drop in COVID-19 cases, adds 2 deaths over the past week

Centre County saw a decrease in COVID-19 cases during the first week of November.

From Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 261 cases were reported; that’s 24 fewer than the previous seven days.

As of Nov. 5, there have been a total of 20,874 cases in the county — 18,881 confirmed and 1,993 probable — along with 83,066 negative tests. The state Health Department ran into a technical issue early in the week that delayed the daily case report, so the exact case totals in Centre County are not available for some days. The highest one-day case total was 46 on Oct. 30. Zero new cases were reported via the COVID app on Nov. 1, though that was one of the days the state ran into reporting issues. There was no update on Nov. 2, and 98 cases were reported on Nov. 3.

Two additional deaths were reported during the week to bring the county’s total to 246.

The latest from Mount Nittany Health

Mount Nittany Medical Center was treating 32 COVID patients on Nov. 5 between ages 54 and 86, according to the dashboard. Four patients were in intensive care and three were on ventilators. Of the total, 19 patients were not vaccinated. COVID patient numbers shifted between 36 and 37 during the week before reaching a low of 32 on Nov. 5. Patient ages from Nov. 1-5 ranged from 36 to 94.

The hospital’s average daily COVID patient count was 34 in October, compared to a daily average of 11 in October 2020. So far this month, the average daily count is 34. The total number of cases last month was 135, a decrease of four from September.

“The number of COVID cases and hospitalizations in the community continue to be a concern for us,” Dr. Upendra Thaker, Mount Nittany Medical Center chief medical officer, said in Mount Nittany Health’s weekly COVID-19 update. “This not only puts a strain on healthcare workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center but can also impact other resources.”

Officials asked residents to take measures against COVID-19 such as getting vaccinated, maintaining social distancing, avoiding large gatherings, wearing a mask and washing hands often.

Community members can go to mountnittany.org/covid to sign up for a COVID vaccine, booster or additional dose. With federal approval this week of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11, parents/guardians of Mount Nittany Physician Group Pediatrics patients can call 814-466-7921 to schedule an appointment for their youngster. Others who are interested can make an appointment through Centre Volunteers in Medicine at cvim.net. For additional providers, visit vaccines.gov.

Additionally, Mount Nittany Medical Center patients (except those who have COVID) can choose two people to see them during their hospital stay. One person at a time will be allowed in during visiting hours, which are 2-6 p.m. daily.

Cases by ZIP code

Centre County’s cases continued a familiar pattern with the highest totals this week in the Bellefonte and State College areas, as well as in Howard.

Rockview state prison had three active cases as of Nov. 5, the Corrections Department dashboard showed, all of which had been reported in previous weeks. The facility’s total remains at 135. Benner state prison had no active cases, while the facility’s total stood at 253.

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. 29 and Nov. 5 is in parentheses.

• 16801 (State College): 6,333 (36)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 3,447 (45)
• 16803 (State College): 1,783 (26)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 1,663 (37)
• 16802 (University Park): 1,550 (2)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 1,135 (10)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 693 (7)
• 16841 (Howard): 620 (23)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 429 (10)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 416 (10)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 402 (5)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 323 (1)
• 16844 (Julian): 310 (8)
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 308 (14)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 301 (3)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 170 (3)
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 168 (3)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 151 (2)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 133 (2)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 113 (0)
• 16829 (Clarence): 110 (7)
• 16854 (Millheim): 106 (3)
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 102 (2)
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 88 (1)
• 16851 (Lemont): 83 (2)
• 16859 (Moshannon): 58 (2)
• 16832 (Coburn): 53 (1)
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 45 (1)
• 16860 (Munson): 38 (1)
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 38 (2)
• 16835 (Unionville): 33 (0)
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 32 (0)
• 16856 (Mingoville): 31 (0)
• 16882 (Woodward): 18 (0)
• 16864 (Orviston): 14 (0)
• 16804 (State College): 12 (0)

The situation in PA

Cases rose statewide this week, with 28,017 reported from Oct. 30-Nov. 5. That’s 867 more than the previous seven days.

Pennsylvania has had a total of 1,585,476 cases along with 5,752,490 negative tests. The Health Department said 91% of people have recovered.

Hospitalizations were on a downward trend during the week, falling from a high of 2,754 on Nov. 1 to a low of 2,571 on Nov. 4, before ending the week at 2,576. Compared to the previous Friday, there were 162 fewer COVID patients in the state.

There have been 31,855 deaths, an increase of 478. The week before, there were 474 deaths.

The vaccine picture

Every county in Pennsylvania remained at the high level of community transmission on Nov. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Among Pennsylvanians 18 and older, 72.3% are fully vaccinated, the CDC said. A week ago, that figure was 71.7%.

The CDC said that in Centre County:

• 66.9% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose with 55.2% fully vaccinated. (A week ago, those percentages were 65.6% and 54.9%, respectively.)
  
  
• 74.7% of those 18 and older received at least one dose with 61.5% fully vaccinated. (Last week, those percentages were 73.2% and 61.1%, respectively.)
  
  
• 99.9% of those 65 and older received at least one dose with 93.3% fully vaccinated. (Last week’s totals were 99.9% and 92.7%, respectively.)

This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Centre County sees slight drop in COVID-19 cases, adds 2 deaths over the past week."