COVID-19 case rate in state continues to rise

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 5,058 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday. The sevenday moving average of newly reported cases was 4,771 cases per day, up 2% from a week ago, and up 33% over the last 30 days.

To date, there have been 1.46 million infections statewide.

While rates nationwide have been declining since the start of September, Pennsylvania’s rate has yet to crest. The case rate has been falling in fits and starts in the Lehigh Valley, and is now about equal to the national rate of 206.4 cases each week for every 100,000 residents.

The national data is generally two days behind what is available from Pennsylvania’s Health Department.

The state reported 111 deaths Wednesday. The sevenday moving average of deaths per day is 57, compared with 46.4 a week ago, an increase of 23% in the last seven days, and more than double the rate of a month ago.

The recent increase in average daily deaths is equivalent to the rates seen in late February.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Pennsylvania ranks fifth for the number of deaths relative to the number of cases. Many of the most impacted places had surges early in the pandemic, before treatments — or even diagnostic tests — were widely available.

The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there are 7.46 million fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania, accounting for 58.2% of the population. An additional 1.92 million people are in need of their follow-up shot. In total, 16.39 million shots have been put into the arms of 9.38 million people, or 73.2% of the state’s residents.

Included in those statewide numbers are 414,406 Lehigh Valley residents who are fully vaccinated, accounting for 61.4% of the local population. In total, 524,807 locals have received 805,030 shots in the arm, accounting for 77.8% of the Valley’s population.

An average of 29,521 vaccinations are being administered to Pennsylvania residents each day, according to CDC data. Of those, 15,545 are first doses. The number of total vaccinations per day is down 5.3% over the last 30 days. The number of first doses being given per day is down 6.2% over the last 30 days.

The Health Department reports that 185,318 booster shots have been administered in the 66 counties under its purview. Philadelphia is administered separately. The total includes 7,046 in Lehigh County and 5,928 in Northampton County.

There were 2,891 people hospitalized as of midday Wednesday, compared with 2,882 Tuesday. Of those, 675 were in intensive care, and 386 were on ventilators. Statewide hospitalizations have increased 3% over the last week, and are up 48.3% in the last 30 days.

The 14-day average of people hospitalized with COVID is 2,758, the highest it has been since mid-February.

Hospitals in the five-county region including Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe report 241 patients, with 53 in intensive care, and 15 on ventilators. Regional hospitalizations have increased 4% over the last week, and are up 36% in the last 30 days.

The Lehigh Valley reported 156 additional cases, 96 in Lehigh County and 60 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 89,315.

Three new deaths (two in Lehigh County, and one in Northampton County) bring the total to 1,679 (914 in Lehigh, 765 in Northampton).

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