COVID-19 cases and deaths are escalating as Centre County heads into winter

Centre County entered December with COVID-19 cases and deaths at their highest levels in 10 months.

During the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3, there were 598 cases reported in the county. Daily totals ranged from a low of 42 on Nov. 27 to a high of 141 on Dec. 3. The county hasn’t had a one-day total as high since Jan. 31.

The past week’s case total is an increase of 75 compared to the previous seven days.

As of Dec. 3, there have been 23,138 cases — 20,805 confirmed and 2,333 probable — along with 84,790 negative tests.

There were a total of 1,675 cases last month, slightly more than September’s tally and the highest monthly count since April.

November ended with 14 COVID-19 deaths in the county, Department of Health data showed. That was the highest monthly total since February.

So far this month, there have been three new deaths: two reported Dec. 2 and one Dec. 3. The county’s total now stands at 261.

Where are Centre County’s cases concentrated?

The Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap area saw the largest number of cases in the county, followed by State College and Philipsburg.

Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 3, there were 17 new cases at Benner state prison and two at Rockview, according to the state dashboard. No cases were reported in residents of Centre County nursing homes during the past four weeks, that 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 Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 is in parentheses.

• 16801 (State College): 6,618 (61)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 3,995 (153)
• 16803 (State College): 1,910 (43)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 1,859 (32)
• 16802 (University Park): 1,607 (3)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 1,304 (43)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 758 (14)
• 16841 (Howard): 705 (23)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 495 (17)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 492 (11)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 440 (8)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 365 (19)
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 362 (14)
• 16844 (Julian): 362 (17)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 362 (10)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 196 (5)
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 195 (7)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 173 (12)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 158 (8)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 126 (7)
• 16854 (Millheim): 124 (4)
• 16829 (Clarence): 121 (0)
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 119 (5)
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 104 (4)
• 16851 (Lemont): 88 (4)
• 16859 (Moshannon): 63 (2)
• 16832 (Coburn): 62 (2)
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 50 (1)
• 16860 (Munson): 44 (2)
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 43 (0)
• 16856 (Mingoville): 37 (2)
• 16835 (Unionville): 34 (1)
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 34 (0)
• 16882 (Woodward): 20 (0)
• 16864 (Orviston): 14 (0)
• 16804 (State College): 13 (0)

Vaccine update

Just before Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adjusted Pennsylvania’s vaccination data to remove duplicates, The Associated Press reported. The percentage of vaccinated adults fell by almost 5 percentage points, or 1.2 million doses.

As of Dec. 3, the CDC said, 69.5% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older were fully vaccinated. Nationwide, that figure was 71.4%.

Every county in Pennsylvania was in the high level of community transmission.

In Centre County, the CDC said:

• 69.3% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose with 53.7% fully vaccinated.
• 75.5% of those 18 and older received at least one dose with 58.7% fully vaccinated.
• 99.9% of people 65 and older received at least one dose with 86% fully vaccinated.

The picture in PA

Statewide, there were 47,196 cases from Nov. 27-Dec. 3, although 372 of the cases reported Dec. 1 were more than four days old. Daily case during the week totals ranged from a low of 4,159 on Nov. 28 to a high of 10,127 on Dec. 3.

The Dec. 3 one-day total was the highest since Jan. 9.

Cases increased by 4,924 over the previous seven days.

Overall, there have been 1,763,796 cases along with 5,922,537 negative tests. Across Pennsylvania, 91% of people have recovered.

There have been 33,746 deaths as of Dec. 3.

The average number of hospitalizations is on the rise, the Health Department said. The number of total patients has increased steadily during the past three weeks and at 3,985 on Dec. 3 was the highest it’s been since January.

Mount Nittany Medical Center’s dashboard reported 59 COVID-19 patients on Friday, ranging in age from 27 to 95 years old. About 70% of patients were not vaccinated and 10 were in the ICU. The sustained high census levels led the medical center’s emergency department to stop accepting ambulances from Thursday night through Friday morning, with officials cautioning that “extraordinary measures” including postponement of elective surgeries may continue.

The statewide positivity rate also rose steadily during the past month:

• Nov. 5-11: 10.3%
• Nov. 12-18: 11.7%
• Nov. 19-25: 12.1%
• Nov. 26-Dec. 2: 15.3%

This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "COVID-19 cases and deaths are escalating as Centre County heads into winter."