Allegheny County reports 29 new cases, 4 more deaths

Western Pennsylvania on Tuesday reported 96 new cases of COVID- 19, with Allegheny County accounting for 29 of them, according to state health officials. The county also reported four more deaths due to the virus.

Allegheny County’s newest cases come from 954 test results, administered from Aug. 25 to Aug. 31 and one from Aug. 6, according to health officials.

Those who have recently tested positive range in age from 17 to 77, with a median age of 21. Of the 29 new infections, 27 have been confirmed and two are considered to be probable cases.

Tuesday marked the 12th straight day the county has seen fewer than 100 new daily cases. In the week spanning Aug. 25 to Aug. 31, the county’s average number of daily cases was about 59 per day. This was a decrease from the previous week, when the average was about 61 cases per day.

Statewide, the average number of daily cases also has decreased, going from about 661 cases two weeks ago to 650 cases last week.

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania reported an additional 770 cases, bringing the state total to 134,795, according to the state health department.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Allegheny County has had 10,376 cases of the virus.

Allegheny County’s four deaths occurred on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29 and include two people in their 70s and two in their 80s. Two of the four deaths are related to long- term care facilities, health officials said. The county has had 334 COVID- 19- related deaths since mid- March.

Statewide, there were 18 virusrelated deaths, bringing the state death toll to 7,691. According to the state’s data, 5,192 of

the deaths — 67.5% of them — occurred in long- term care facilities.

In Western Pennsylvania, seven new deaths were reported. Along with Allegheny County’s four deaths, Erie County reported two deaths and Cambria County reported one.

Currently, there are 528 people hospitalized for the virus across Pennsylvania. Among those, 71 are hospitalized in Allegheny County, according to the most recent data from the state. In total, 975 people in the county have been hospitalized for COVID- 19.

Also Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf renewed the state’s disaster declaration to help deal with the pandemic. The 90- day renewal is the second extension signed by the governor since the state first declared a disaster on March 6, after the first two presumptive cases were announced.

More than 134,000 cases later, the renewal will continue to allow the state to expedite the allocation and supply of resources and funding for state and emergency services, including the assignment of National Guard troops for support of long- term care facilities.

“As we approach the sixmonth mark of this crisis, I continue to be amazed at the resiliency and strength shown by Pennsylvanians during this pandemic,” Mr. Wolf said in a release.“We are going to continue to combat the health and economic effects of COVID19, and the renewal of my disaster declaration will provide us with resources and support needed.”

The state health and human services departments on Tuesday also announced that baseline COVID- 19 testing in all long- term care facilities has been completed.

On June 26, Dr. Rachel Levine, the state’s health secretary, signed an order mandating that all longterm health care facilities complete a baseline test of its residents and employees by Aug. 31.

“Universal testing in long- term care facilities is an essential piece in preventing and mitigating future outbreaks,” Dr. Levine said.

Dr. Levine said retesting guidelines for facilities would be announced soon and the state plans to continue to expand testing capabilities.

Penn State University now reports a total of 73 COVID- 19 cases universitywide since early August, including 32 new cases since Friday at University Park, according to Penn State’s COVID- 19 dashboard. The universitywide total includes 69 on the main campus and three positives at Behrend and one at Schuylkill.

Here is the total number of positive cases reported Tuesday in Western Pennsylvania:

• Allegheny: 10,376 ( up 29 from Monday)

• Armstrong: 320 ( up 6)

• Beaver: 1,618 ( up 7)

• Butler: 789 ( up 4)

• Cambria: 467 ( up 6)

• Clarion: 98 ( no change)

• Clearfield: 228 ( up 1)

• Crawford: 217 ( up 3)

• Erie: 1,358 ( up 9)

• Fayette: 694 ( up 2)

• Forest: 14 ( no change)

• Greene: 140 ( no change)

• Indiana: 430 ( up 3)

• Jefferson: 97( no change)

• Lawrence: 464 ( up 5)

• Mercer: 549 ( up 3)

• Somerset: 167 ( up 2)

• Venango: 70 ( no change)

• Washington: 1,066 ( up 12)

• Westmoreland: 1,819 ( up 4)

Here is the total number of deaths reported Tuesday in Western Pennsylvania:

• Allegheny: 334 ( up 4 from Monday; the state is reporting 314)

• Armstrong: 9 ( no change)

• Beaver: 96 ( no change)

• Butler: 18 ( no change)

• Cambria: 5 ( up 1)

• Clarion: 3 ( no change)

• Clearfield: 1 ( no change)

• Crawford: 2 ( no change)

• Erie: 35 ( up 2)

• Fayette: 6 ( no change)

• Forest: 0 ( no change)

• Greene: 1 ( no change)

• Indiana: 10 ( no change)

• Jefferson: 1 ( no change)

• Lawrence: 18 ( no change)

• Mercer: 13 ( no change)

• Somerset: 3 ( no change)

• Venango: 1 ( no change)

• Washington: 27 ( no change)

• Westmoreland: 49 ( no change; the county coroner, whose numbers were last updated on Aug. 31, is reporting 48)