Centre County sees 2nd highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases
A day after setting a record for new COVID-19 cases, Centre County saw its second highest one-day increase Thursday, with 40 new cases. The county has had 578 cases (531 confirmed and 47 probable) since the first one was reported March 20. All 40 new cases are confirmed, according to state Department of Health data, and almost all are in the State College area. There have been 15,684 negative tests overall in the county.
The spike in cases this week appears to be legitimate, unlike a previous surge when several cases were found to be invalid.
“We have no reason to question the recent growth in the overall cases reported by the Department of Health,” Mount Nittany Health’s chief medical officer, Dr. Nirmal Joshi, said Thursday. Joshi said Mount Nittany officials are “closely” watching what’s happening in the community and in the hospital and health system.
Even with the increase in cases, there has not been a corresponding rise in hospitalizations, Joshi said in an email. During the past two months, on average, there has been a decrease in the length of patients’ hospital stays, he said.
In Pennsylvania, there were 1,160 new positive cases, which brought the state total to 136,711. There have been 1.57 million negative tests statewide. Philadelphia reported an increase of 257 cases, Allegheny County added 105 cases and York County saw 128 new cases.
Cases continue to increase among 19- to 24-year-olds. In the north-central region, which includes Centre County, about 7% of all cases were seen in that age group in April; now, it’s 26%. That’s the highest percentage in the state.
Members of the community have a large role to play in stopping the virus from spreading, Joshi said, by washing their hands, practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
“It is imperative that the entire community remains vigilant in their efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus,” Joshi said.
The age breakdown of those who have tested positive across the state is:
- Approximately 1% are 0-4
- Nearly 2% are 5-12
- Approximately 4% are 13-18
- Nearly 11% are 19-24
- Approximately 37% are 25-49
- Approximately 22% are 50-64
- Approximately 23% are 65 or older
There have been 7,732 deaths across Pennsylvania due to COVID-19, including 20 new fatalities reported Thursday. The state lists 11 Centre County deaths.
The breakdown of Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the DOH:
- 16801 (State College): 187 confirmed (25 new cases), 18 probable
- 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 71 (1 new case), 6 probable
- 16803 (State College): 62 (2 new cases), 6 probable
- 16802 (University Park): 35 (9 new cases), 0 probable
- 16686 (Tyrone): 28, 0 probable
- 16866 (Philipsburg): 25, 1-4 probable
- 16875 (Spring Mills): 23, 0 probable
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 21, 1-4 probable
- 16841 (Howard): 20, 1-4 probable
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 16, 0 probable
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 12, 0 probable
- 16828 (Centre Hall): 12, 1-4 probable
- 16666 (Osceola Mills): 8, 1-4 probable
- 16853 (Milesburg): 7, 0 probable
- 16844 (Julian): 6, 0 probable
- 16851 (Lemont): 6, 0 probable
- 16854 (Millheim): 6, 1-4 probable
- 16877 (Warriors Mark): 5, 0 probable
- 16820 (Aaronsburg): 5, 1-4 probable
- 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 5, 0 probable
- 16804, 16829, 16832, 16845, 16852, 16860, 16868, 16872, 16874, 16882: 1-4 cases each
The state does not give specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy and does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.
- by Matt Hymowitz
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 2:41 PM.