Pennsylvania reports nearly 3,400 more covid cases, 132 deaths
Feb. 27—Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 3,361 new coronavirus cases, as hospitalizations and case counts continue to decrease in the Keystone State.
The new data bring the total cases to 929,697.
That's a jump of about 18,100 additional cases from this time last week. Two weeks ago, the increase was about 19,300; three weeks ago it was 27,000.
Officials said just over 129,000 of the total cases are considered probable. Health officials define a probable case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a "high-risk exposure" to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.
The state also reported 132 new deaths.
The total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania is 24,000 — 430 more fatalities than last week (23,570). Two weeks ago it was nearly 500 more deaths. and three weeks ago, the change was more than triple that, at 1,600.
There were discrepancies Saturday in the total number of covid-19 deaths in the state. The state Department of Health listed differing totals, with a news release saying there were 24,000 deaths and its covid-19 dashboard and Covid Alert PA app saying there were 23.937 deaths, the same as Friday's total. A reason for the discrepancy was not given and the Department of Health did not reply to a message seeking comment.
Health officials say there are 1,785 patients hospitalized in the state, representing 275 fewer patients than at this time last week. Two weeks ago the change was 487.
Also encouraging news: Officials noted that the 14-day average is about 3,500 lower than it was during the virus' peak at Christmas.
Of the new number, 386 covid-19 patients are in an intensive care unit. There are currently 209 patients on ventilators.
Officials say positivity rate in the state during the past week is 6.5%, the same as last week.
Out of the new cases reported Saturday, 313 — or 9.3% — are from Allegheny County. Philadelphia reported an increase of 347, accounting for 10.3% of cases — a single percentage point higher, despite Philadelphia having a larger population than Allegheny County.
Westmoreland County reported 94, which amounted to 2.8% of the state's new cases.
Nearly 3.88 million people in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus out of the more than 4.8 million people in the state who have been tested.
The overall positivity rate is around 16.6%.
State officials said 2.3 million doses of covid-19 vaccines have been administered across the state as of Friday.
Officials said of the total vaccinations, more than 1.6 million people have received the first dose out of the two-shot vaccine, which makes them partially covered. And nearly 687,000 people have received both doses.
They noted that this total include vaccines administered through CVS and Walgreens as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership. However, these numbers neither include records from Philadelphia, which is its own jurisdiction, nor do they include vaccines administered at federal facilities which are working directly with the federal government.
According to the state Health Department, the most severe cases are seen in patients over the age of 65. This group accounts for the largest age demographic for hospitalizations and deaths.
In nursing and personal care homes, there have been 66,835 cases in residents and 13,059 in employees.
There have been 12,435 deaths at nursing and personal care homes. These deaths account for about 52% of the state's total. About 1,567 nursing facilities have been affected by the virus.
Of the total coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, 24,770 stem from health care workers.
Pennsylvania health officials urge people to continue to exercise caution when in public — mainly by maintaining social distance and wearing masks.
Mask-wearing is required in all businesses in the state — even if the person is fully vaccinated. Officials say face coverings are critical preventing the spread of the virus.
Samson X Horne is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Samson at 412-320-7845, shorne@triblive.com or via Twitter .
