Philadelphia infection rate drops below 100

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 3,742 additional coronavirus cases Tuesday. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 3,890 cases per day, down 12.4% from a week ago and down 14% over the last 30 days.

To date, there have been 1.54 million infections statewide.

Philadelphia is unique among the state’s 67 counties in being under the threshold for being classified as a high community transmission area, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as 100 weekly case for each 100,000 residents.

Philadelphia’s rate is 94.1 population-adjusted weekly cases. It is followed by Lackawanna (122.6), Delaware (128.1), Bucks (130.8) and Chester (135.6).

Lehigh County’s 138.9 weekly population-adjusted rate ranks is seventh-lowest, while Northampton County is currently 11th with a rate of 169.

The statewide rate is 212.7 weekly cases for every 100,000 Pennsylvanians, while the U.S rate is 124.7. Pennsylvania has the 12th-highest rate among the states.

The states with the highest rates are Alaska (550.1), Montana (472.7), Idaho (452), North Dakota (428.3) and Wyoming (406.6)

The lowest rates are in California (34.8), the District of Columbia (55.8), Alabama (57.7), Hawaii (62.9) and Florida (64.8). California is the only state in the CDC’s “moderate” transmission classification, although Puerto Rico also qualifies with a rate of 22.1 weekly population-adjusted cases.

The state reported 79 deaths Tuesday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 66.9, compared with 75.6 a week ago, a decrease of 12% in the last seven days.

The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there are 7.7 million fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania, accounting for 60.1% of the population. An additional 2.1 million people are in need of their follow-up shot.

In total, 17.27 million shots have been put into the arms of 9.8 million people, or 76.5% of the state’s residents.

Included in those statewide numbers are 425,745 Lehigh Valley residents who are fully vaccinated, accounting for 63.1% of the local population. In total, 541,604 locals have received 805,030 shots in the arm, accounting for 80.3% of the Valley’s population.

An average of 47,606 vaccinations are being administered to Pennsylvania residents each day, according to CDC data. Of those, 21,675 are first doses. The number of total vaccinations per day has more than doubled over the last 30 days. The number of first doses being given per day is up 95.9% over the last 30 days.

There were 2,798 people hospitalized as of midday Tuesday, compared with 2,786 on Monday. Of those, 681 were in intensive care and 377 were on ventilators. Statewide hospitalizations have decreased 3.8% over the last week and are up 11.7% in the last 30 days.

Hospitals in the Lehigh Valley reported 137 COVID-19 patients Tuesday, compared with 134 on Monday, including 35 in intensive care and 25 on ventilators.

Hospitals in the five-county region including Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe report 210 patients, with 51 in intensive care, and 30 on ventilators. Regional hospitalizations have decreased 6.2% over the last week,and are up 1.5% in the last 30 days.

The Lehigh Valley reported 166 additional cases, 71 in Lehigh County and 95 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 92,545.

Three new deaths, all in Lehigh County, bring the total to 1,726 (936 in Lehigh, 790 in Northampton).

— Eugene Tauber