COVID-19 cases reaching new highs across PA, US and setting records in Centre County

COVID-19 cases are at record highs in the U.S. largely due to the omicron variant, and Pennsylvania is no exception.

On Dec. 29, the Keystone State reported an additional 17,520 cases, which was the highest one-day total of the pandemic. The next day’s total topped that with a reported 19,436 additional cases, as the state passed 2 million overall cases on Dec. 30. Overall, there have been 2,013,156 million cases in the state.

There were 679 new deaths during the week Dec. 24-30, about 100 fewer than the previous week. The statewide total stands at 36,639.

The Associated Press, citing data from Johns Hopkins University, reported that cases across the country more than doubled during the past two weeks and are averaging a record of more than 265,000 per day. The previous high-water mark was 250,000 in mid-January, AP said.

Children also are being hospitalized with COVID at a record pace, according to reports. Most are not vaccinated.

AP said a daily average of 378 children 17 and younger were admitted to hospitals with COVID during the week Dec. 22-28, a 66% increase compared to the previous week. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, children represent a small percentage of the 9,400 total hospitalizations during the week.

The previous high was in September, when hospitalizations among children averaged 342 per day, AP said.

“It’s just so heartbreaking,” Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious-disease expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told AP. “It was hard enough last year, but now you know that you have a way to prevent all this.”

Cases, deaths up in Centre County in December

During the past week, Centre County reported the second and third highest one-day case totals of the pandemic: 255 cases on Dec. 24 and 234 on Dec. 30. The county’s highest total remains 302, which was reported Dec. 11, 2020.

As of Dec. 30, there have been a total of 25,892 cases in the county. With one day left to add to the count, this month’s total is the highest of the pandemic. December’s total of 3,092 cases surpasses the previous record of 2,590 cases in December 2020.

From Dec. 24-30, seven COVID deaths were reported to bring the total to 288. There have been 30 deaths in December, the highest monthly total since January’s 54.

Mount Nittany Health again urges caution

Mount Nittany Medical Center is continuing to monitor the rise in cases as the hospital is seeing a high number of COVID patients. In December, the daily average of COVID patients is 57 and the total number of patients is 219, Mount Nittany said on Dec. 30. The average number of patients last December was 48.

On Dec. 30, Mount Nittany was treating 43 COVID patients between ages 29 and 89. Four patients were in the intensive care unit and on ventilators, according to the dashboard. Of the total, 25 patients were not vaccinated. During the past week, patient numbers fell from 54 on Dec. 24 to 43 on Dec. 30.

The hospital has postponed elective surgeries requiring an overnight stay and all endoscopy procedures through Jan. 5, and advised emergency department patients to expect longer-than-usual waits.

Mount Nittany Health officials again called on community members to take precautions against the spread of the virus during the holiday weekend.

“The Omicron variant is two to three times more transmissible than the Delta variant,” Dr. Upendra Thaker, Mount Nittany Medical Center chief medical officer, said in a statement. “There are also a high number of people who are asymptomatic, or have minimal symptoms, which creates a perfect storm for spreading the virus unknowingly. We do anticipate an even greater increase in cases following the holidays with more hospitalizations to follow.”

Mount Nittany recommends several safety measures:

• Avoid large, indoor gatherings; but wear a mask if you find yourself in a crowded indoor space
• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands
• Get vaccinated (or a booster if you’re already vaccinated)

The Department of Health testing site will reopen in the new year at a new location. Starting Jan. 4, testing will be offered at the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority. The site will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Where are Centre County’s cases?

State College and Bellefonte saw the highest number of cases in the county during the past week, followed by Port Matilda and Philipsburg.

Between Dec. 23 and 30, there were two new cases at Rockview state prison and one new case at Benner state prison, according to the Corrections Department dashboard.

The state’s nursing home dashboard, which updates on Fridays, shows at least one new case during the past four weeks (as of Dec. 24) in a resident of Juniper Village at Brookline.

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. 23 and 30 is in parentheses.

• 16801 (State College): 7,155 (199)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 4,521 (142)
• 16803 (State College): 2,226 (134)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 1,998 (31)
• 16802 (University Park): 1,676 (8)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 1,476 (42)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 883 (60)
• 16841 (Howard): 784 (27)
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 561 (27)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 524 (10)
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 507 (29)
• 16844 (Julian): 417 (21)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 416 (7)
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 401 (14)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 400 (7)
• 16853 (Milesburg): 218 (8)
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 214 (10)
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 210 (3)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 180 (4)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 147 (9)
• 16854 (Millheim): 138 (6)
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 133 (1)
• 16829 (Clarence): 128 (1)
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 112 (1)
• 16851 (Lemont): 105 (8)
• 16859 (Moshannon): 73 (3)
• 16832 (Coburn): 65 (1)
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 55 (0)
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 53 (7)
• 16860 (Munson): 48 (1)
• 16856 (Mingoville): 39 (2)
• 16835 (Unionville): 38 (2)
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 36 (1)
• 16882 (Woodward): 29 (1)
• 16804 (State College): 16 (2)
• 16864 (Orviston): 15 (0)
• 16805 (State College): 1-4 (The state does not provide specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy.)

Centre County remained in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s high level of community transmission on Dec. 30. The CDC recommends that everyone in counties with that status wear masks in public, indoor settings.

CDC figures show that 65.9% of the county’s total population has received at least one vaccine dose, while 57% is fully vaccinated. The CDC also notes that 39.1% of the fully vaccinated population received a booster.

A look at hospital, vaccine situation in PA

• Statewide, hospitalizations are at their highest level in almost a year. The total number of patients stood at 5,003 on Dec. 30, a level last reached in mid-January. Since the start of the month, the number of patients has increased by more than 1,000.
• The CDC said 63.9% of Pennsylvania’s total population is fully vaccinated. The state ranks 19th in the country in that metric. Vermont is No. 1, with 77.4%
• Pennsylvania has the fifth highest number of fully vaccinated residents, the CDC said. The top four states in that category are California, Texas, New York and Florida.

This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "COVID-19 cases reaching new highs across PA, US and setting records in Centre County."