Pennsylvania coronavirus updates: 467 new cases bring state tally to 77,313
Pennsylvania reported 467 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 77,313.
The state Health Department also reported 51 new deaths, bringing the statewide toll to 6,113.
In the Lehigh Valley, 21 new cases were reported — 12 in Lehigh County and 9 in Northampton County — for total of 7,109 infections. Case counts are now at 3,907 in Lehigh County and 3,202 in Northampton County. Four additional deaths in the Lehigh Valley were all in Lehigh. There have been 501 coronavirus deaths in the Valley — 263 in Lehigh and 238 in Northampton.
Most of the deaths have occurred in people 65 years old or older, including 4,215 among residents of nursing or personal care facilities.
The latest data comes as Pennsylvania has been slowly lifting restrictions on businesses and social gatherings. Half of the state has moved into the leastrestrictive “green” phase of the governor’s three-phase, colorcoded plan, and another 12 counties, including Carbon, are set to shift to that category Friday.
The Wolf administration also announced Thursday that $625 million from the federal coronavirus relief bill is now available to most counties. The grants from the state Department of Community and Economic Development can be used for costs related to COVID-19 response efforts between March 1 and Dec. 30.
Seven counties — Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and Philadelphia — already received money directly from the federal government and are not eligible for the new funds.
Washington correspondent Laura Olson can be reached at 202-7809540 or lolson@mcall.com.