PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) at a press briefing today
For a straight second day, new COVID-19 cases in PA dropped below 500, with reported fatalities also continuing to trend lower.
The state Department of Health today reported 451 new positive cases for the period ending at midnight.
This marks 16 days straight with new case numbers below 1,000 in Pennsylvania. With the additional cases, 68,637 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
It’s been two months since the state reported a lower number of daily new cases—276 cases on March 25. Yesterday, the state reported 473 new cases.
Cases peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 daily new cases. Since then, cases have shown a gradual, relatively steady decline.
“Our case count continues to trend downward,” Gov. Tom Wolf said today, who added that he was especially encouraged because of increasingly greater testing levels for the virus.
The lower case data today, in part, may be attributable to less reporting to the state Department of Health over the holiday weekend.
Of the new cases today, 167 are in residents of nursing and personal care homes.
Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:
- Adams County: 233 cases (yesterday, 227)
- Cumberland County: 602 cases (yesterday, 598)
- Dauphin County: 1,137 cases (yesterday, 1,123)
- Franklin County: 746 cases (yesterday, 740)
- Lancaster County: 2,985 cases (yesterday, 2,896)
- Lebanon County: 922 cases (yesterday, 912)
- Perry County: 48 cases (yesterday, 47)
- York County: 943 cases (yesterday, 930)
Overall, 16.8 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.
The health department also reported another 13 fatalities, meaning that 5,152 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease since March. This represents a fall from the 100-plus COVID-19-related deaths reported last week in PA.
Of the newly reported fatalities, most were residents of nursing or personal care homes.
Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:
- Adams County: 7 deaths (yesterday, 7)
- Cumberland County: 46 deaths (yesterday, 46)
- Dauphin County: 63 deaths (yesterday, 63)
- Franklin County: 29 deaths (yesterday, 29)
- Lancaster County: 281 deaths (yesterday, 280)
- Lebanon County: 27 deaths (yesterday, 27)
- Perry County: 1 death (yesterday, 1)
- York County: 22 deaths (yesterday, 22)
Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 17,597 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 6,598 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 1,232 and 635, respectively.
“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” health Secretary Rachel Levine said.
So far, the state has moved 49 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties into the less restrictive yellow phase. On Friday, eight more counties are slated to enter the yellow phase, including Dauphin and Lebanon counties. By June 5, the entire state will exit from the red phase to either yellow or green, according to current plans.
Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Of total deaths, 3,395, or 65.9 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.
In nursing and personal care homes, there are 14,857 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,505 cases among employees, for a total of 17,362 at 594 distinct facilities in 44 counties, according to the health department.
In addition, 5,159 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.
Statewide, 408,472 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 339,835 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 403,114 people had been tested for the virus.
Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:
- Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
- Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
- Nearly 2 percent are aged 13-18
- Nearly 6 percent are aged 19-24
- Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
- 25 percent are aged 50-64
- Nearly 29 percent are aged 65 or older.
Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.
Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
- Clean surfaces frequently.
- Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
“We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders,” Levine said. “I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”
For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.
