Allegheny sees decline in new virus cases
For a second day in a row, Allegheny County has seen a decline in new COVID-19 cases, with 140 cases reported Thursday. Despite the drop, the county said it had an increase of 12 new hospitalizations from the viral disease.
The latest numbers — released two weeks since countywide restrictions for bars and restaurants went into effect — follow single-day totals of 331 new cases on Tuesday and 246 on Wednesday.
With the additional cases, the county total is now 5,750. These new cases are from 2,817 tests that were administered between June 30 and July 14. The newly reported cases are between ages 2 to 94 years old, with the median age being 33.
The 12 new virus-related hospitalizations bring the past or present total to 490, with 170 of them requiring admittance to an intensive care unit and 79 requiring mechanical ventilation.
The county also reported one new death. Its death toll now stands at 205. This death occurred on July 9, and the person was 79 years old.
Among recent cases are six people at Citizen Care community homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The cases are located across three residences, with three people in one location, two in another home and the last in a third. Each home usually has no more than four residents, Greg Jena, spokesperson for parent organization Partners for Quality, said.
Each of the people who tested positive are asymptomatic and were exposed by a third-party staffer in late June, Mr. Jena said. All six are in isolation at their residences.
Two residents at a Citizen Care facility in McKees Rocks died because of complications from COVID-19. The first death was announced late April and the second in early May. Two other residents in the home contracted the virus and recovered.
The state reported 16 new deaths, four of which occurred in Western Pennsylvania. Allegheny, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties all reported one new death each.
Pennsylvania is reporting an additional 781 cases of the virus, bringing the statewide total to 98,446. Western Pennsylvania accounted for 262 of Thursday’s new cases, according to the state health department. Westmoreland County had the second highest increase in the region for Thursday with 35 new cases.
In a news conference, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that if the recent surge in COVID-19 cases continues to climb, he would not allow schools in the state to reopen.
“We’re trying to make sure that we do the things we need to do right now, so that when schools come time to open ... we’re in a position to do that,” Mr. Wolf said. Meanwhile the state on Thursday released extensive guidelines for schools to reopen.
While the state on Wednesday ordered bars and restaurants to limit capacity to 25%, Allegheny County sent a release reiterating that its more restrictive requirements take precedence. That means indoor dining and alcohol consumption in bars are prohibited.
The county said it will review the state’s new restrictions and announce any changes Friday.
Until then, the county said, the following requirements “remain in place”:
• Indoor dining is prohibited
• Indoor areas, including bar areas, of restaurants and retail food service businesses must be closed to customers except for throughtraffic
• Customers are subject to a maximum of three drinks during dine-in service at outdoor seating areas
• Dine-in service at outdoor seating is permitted until 11 p.m.
• Events and gatherings of more than 50 persons outdoors in Allegheny County are prohibited
Here are the total number of positive cases reported Thursday in Western Pennsylvania:
• Allegheny: 5,750 (up 140 from Wednesday)
• Armstrong: 96 (up 2)
• Beaver: 893 (up 9)
• Butler: 456 (up 12)
• Cambria: 153 (up 10)
• Clarion: 67 (up 1)
• Clearfield: 96 (no change)
• Crawford: 104 (up 3)
• Erie: 756 (up 9)
• Fayette: 223 (up 3)
• Forest: 7 (no change)
• Greene: 77 (up 2)
• Indiana: 174 (up 6)
• Jefferson: 41 (no change)
• Lawrence: 209 (up 2)
• Mercer: 208 (up 5)
• Somerset: 88 (up 2)
• Venango: 49 (no change)
• Washington: 518 (up 24)
• Westmoreland: 1,089 (up 35)
Here are the total number of deaths reported Thursday in Western Pennsylvania:
• Allegheny: 205 (up 1 from Wednesday. The state is reporting 201)
• Armstrong: 6 (no change)
• Beaver: 80 (up 1)
• Butler: 13 (no change)
• Cambria: 3 (no change)
• Clarion: 2 (no change)
• Clearfield: 0 (no change)
• Crawford:1 (no change)
• Erie: 13 (no change)
• Fayette: 4 (no change)
• Forest: 0 (no change)
• Greene: 0 (no change)
• Indiana: 6 (no change)
• Jefferson: 1 (no change)
• Lawrence: 9 (no change)
• Mercer: 6 (no change)
• Somerset: 1 (no change)
• Venango: 0 (no change)
• Washington: 7 (up 1)
• Westmoreland: 40 (The Westmoreland County coroner is reporting 33)
Nursing and personal care homes
The state has released data — organized by county — about cases and deaths at nursing and personal care homes. Here’s information about Western Pennsylvania, based on Thursday’s figures, with changes in deaths noted in parentheses:
• Allegheny: 55 facilities, 597 cases among residents, 196 cases among employees, 159 deaths (no change)
• Armstrong: 4 facilities, 11 cases among residents, 7 cases among employees, 5 deaths (no change)
• Beaver: 7 facilities, 410 cases among residents, 48 cases among employees, 83 deaths (no change)
• Butler: 11 facilities, 20 cases among residents, 14 cases among employees, 2 deaths (no change)
• Cambria: 3 facilities, 5 cases among residents, 4 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Clarion: 2 facility, 10 cases among residents, 4 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Clearfield: 3 facilities, 2 cases among residents, 2 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Crawford: 2 facilities, 8 cases among residents, 13 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Erie: 17 facilities, 63 cases among residents, 58 cases among employees, 10 deaths (no change)
• Fayette: 4 facilities, 7 cases among residents, 6 cases among employees, 1 death (no change)
• Greene: 1 facility, 2 cases among residents, 1 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Indiana: 9 facilities, 23 cases among residents, 7 cases among employees, 4 deaths (no change)
• Jefferson: 1 facility, 4 cases among residents, 4 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Lawrence: 5 facilities, 30 cases among residents, 11 cases among employees, 1 death (no change)
• Mercer: 6 facilities, 2 cases among residents, 6 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Somerset: 1 facility, 0 cases among residents, 1 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Washington: 8 facilities, 11 cases among residents, 5 cases among employees, 2 deaths (no change)
• Westmoreland: 18 facilities, 151 cases among residents, 48 cases among employees, 29 deaths (no change)
• Pennsylvania: 767 facilities, 18,430 cases among residents, 3,534 cases among employees, 4,777 deaths (up 10)