Case rate increases 34% in one week
The state Department of Health reported 5,032 additional coronavirus cases on Tuesday, after “technical issues” delayed the update by several hours. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 4,050, up 34% from a week ago, and up 56% over the last 30 days.
To date, there have been 1.02 million infections statewide since the start of the pandemic.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention show that Pennsylvania ranks seventh behind New York City, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York state and Rhode Island for most population-adjusted additional cases over the last seven days. New York City, which the CDC administers as a separate jurisdiction, has a rate of 367 cases per 100,000 people over seven days, about 1.75 times higher than Pennsylvania’s 210. The national rate is 130 cases per 100,000 people.
Deaths
Overall: 34 compared with 14 on Monday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 32, compared with 25 a week ago.
Senior Care: Four reported Tuesday, the same as Monday. That brings the total to 12,912, accounting for 51.5% of the state’s 25,049 deaths.
Hospitalizations
There were 1,980 people hospitalized as of midday Tuesday, compared with 1,916 Monday. Of those, 207 were on ventilators, and 392 were in intensive care beds. The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations has gone up 16% in one week.
Hospitals in the Lehigh Valley report 158 COVID patients Tuesday, with 24 of them in intensive care and 18 on ventilators. The local seven-day moving average for hospitalizations is also up 16% in a week.
Testing
There were 14,704 test results reported Tuesday, with 27.5% of them positive, compared with 29.9% on Monday.
The overall positive test rate is 17.4% since the state’s first cases were reported March 6 of last year.
Lehigh Valley
Cases: 450 additional case reports, with 220 in Lehigh County and 230 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 64,227.
Deaths: Two new deaths, one each in Lehigh and Northampton counties, compared with one the day before. That brings the total to 1,482 (805 in Lehigh, and 677 in Northampton).