Centre County adds 6 COVID-19 deaths, nearly 600 cases over past week

COVID-19 cases remained elevated in Centre County during the past week.

There were 594 reported cases from Dec. 4-10, four fewer than the previous seven days.

As of Dec. 10, there have been a total of 23,732 cases — 21,382 confirmed and 2,350 probable — along with 85,200 negative tests.

Six new deaths were reported to bring the county’s total to 267.

The daily average of COVID-19 patients at Mount Nittany Medical Center is at the highest point of the pandemic, officials said Dec. 10. Overall patient totals are also at record levels, Mount Nittany Health said in a statement.

From Dec. 6-10, the number of COVID patients ranged from 61 to 67, according to Mount Nittany’s dashboard, while patients were as young as 21 and as old as 95. As of Dec. 10, there were 65 COVID patients with eight in intensive care and on ventilators. Almost three-quarters of all the COVID patients were not vaccinated.

Where are Centre County’s cases?

The Bellefonte area again led the way with the most new cases in the county, followed by State College and Philipsburg.

Between Dec. 3 and 10, there were 15 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 Dec. 3 and 10 is in parentheses.

• 16801 (State College): 6,710 (92)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 4,153 (158)
• 16803 (State College): 1,961 (51)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 1,893 (34)
• 16802 (University Park): 1,627 (20)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 1,363 (59)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 781 (23)
• 16841 (Howard): 732 (27)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 505 (10)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 504 (12)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 455 (15)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 387 (22)
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 375 (13)
• 16844 (Julian): 372 (10)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 372 (10)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 203 (7)
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 201 (6)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 179 (6)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 166 (8)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 131 (5)
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 129 (10)
• 16854 (Millheim): 129 (5)
• 16829 (Clarence): 122 (1)
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 107 (3)
• 16851 (Lemont): 91 (3)
• 16859 (Moshannon): 64 (1)
• 16832 (Coburn): 63 (1)
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 50 (0)
• 16860 (Munson): 45 (1)
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 43 (0)
• 16856 (Mingoville): 37 (0)
• 16835 (Unionville): 36 (2)
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 35 (1)
• 16882 (Woodward): 21 (1)
• 16864 (Orviston): 14 (0)
• 16804 (State College): 13 (0)

State College test site runs through December

The COVID-19 testing site at the former Sears Auto Center at the Nittany Mall will run throughout the month, the Health Department said.

The site, which is operated through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, offers testing from 10 a.m to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It will also be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 20 and 27, both Mondays. Testing will be available through Dec. 22 and then resume after the Christmas holiday from Dec. 27-29.

“We encourage anyone who feels they need or wants 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.”

The situation in PA

Across Pennsylvania, there were 54,503 cases reported from Dec. 4-10, an increase of about 7,300 from the previous seven days.

Overall, there have been 1,818,299 cases as of Dec. 10 along with 5,954,107 negative tests. Statewide, 90% of people have recovered.

There have been 34,415 deaths, an increase of 669 from the previous week.

Hospitalizations are the highest they’ve been since January. On Dec. 10, there were 4,502 COVID patients statewide, an increase of more than 500 compared to the previous Friday.

The state’s positivity rate for the week Dec. 3-9 fell by about a percentage point to 14.4%.

This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Centre County adds 6 COVID-19 deaths, nearly 600 cases over past week."