Pennsylvania reported 781 new cases of COVID-19 as the state withdraws open bars and restaurants in hopes of fighting an increase in cases.
New positive tests bring the state total to 98,446 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department’s daily update. The 16 new deaths reported bring the death toll to 6,973.
Allegheny County continues to account for a large portion of the new cases, 140 as the southeastern region of the state faces an outbreak. Philadelphia reported an increase of 132 cases.
Pennsylvania cases have continued to rise (the daily average for the past week is 797) as the state comes to life in the green phase.
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Governor Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that bars should close unless they offer sit-down and dinner meals, and reduced the capacity of the indoor restaurant. The restrictions do not apply to religious institutions. The state plans to issue more guidance on opening schools this afternoon. Masks are still required when you leave your home.
These are their coronavirus updates for Thursday, July 16, 2020.
Coronavirus in Pa.
Tracking contacts shows that the coronavirus is spreading across Pennsylvania thanks to three causes: people who mock social estrangement and mandates for wearing masks in bars and restaurants and on trips, both state visitors and returning residents. vacation.
Combine these things with the lack of a national strategy to fight the virus, and Wolf says the surge in new cases in Pennsylvania is on a disturbing path. Concerned that he may jeopardize the safe opening of schools in a few weeks, Wolf said Wednesday’s specific setbacks were necessary to break this trend.
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Of the 781 new cases reported Thursday, 140 were in Allegheny County in Pittsburgh and 132 in Philadelphia. State reporting of cases in Philadelphia continues to lag behind the state in several thousand cases. A department spokesperson contributed to the delay in problems between reporting systems.
Pennsylvania is experiencing a significant change in the age of people with positive results among people ages 19-49, especially among people age 24 and younger. The average age of new cases in Allegheny County today was 33, although the patients were between 2 and 94 years old.
About 17% of new cases of COVID-19 in July in the northeast region of the state, which includes the Lehigh Valley, were between 19 and 24 years old. That figure was almost 6% in April.
The county has seen nearly 3,000 new cases since early July after making good progress in the pandemic earlier.
Pennsylvania continues to increase its testing capacity. The 7-day positivity rate is 5.4%, just above the 5% threshold recommended by health experts. The positivity rate is calculated by dividing the new positive tests by the total number of positive and negative tests carried out.
From July 9 to 15, there were 5,517 positive tests of the 142,176 tests administered. That makes an average of 20,311 tests a day.
A positive test represents a person, there is no double counting, but the total number of tests administered may reflect a person who was tested multiple times, according to the department.
Patients older than 65 years still account for the majority of the state’s hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
Nursing home residents account for about 19% of cases statewide, a number that is on the decline, and 68% of the state’s 6,973 total deaths. There were 16 new deaths reported today.
The state says 76% of Pennsylvania residents infected to date have recovered, as do most people with COVID-19.
Around 7,337 cases have been in health workers.
Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley
Case rates in the Lehigh Valley have remained relatively low for the past month. Lehigh has seen 215 new cases in the past 14 days with 160 in Northampton.
The 49 new Lehigh Valley cases reported Wednesday bring the region’s total cases to 8,096. The death toll is 613 with no new deaths.
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That breaks down into:
- 4,495 cases and 330 deaths in Lehigh County, with 30 new cases.
- 3,601 cases and 283 deaths in Northampton County, with 19 new cases.
Northampton has averaged 13 new cases per day in the past seven days, while Lehigh is 18.
There is some good news for Lehigh Valley businesses today, as Northampton County officials are opening applications for $ 4 million in COVID-19 small business assistance grants.
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Sara K. Satullo can be contacted at [email protected].
