• New virus cases dropped by 5,400 in Pa. this week. Local,

Pennsylvania last week saw new COVID-19 cases drop by more than 5,400 compared with the previous week.

According to the state Department of Health, there were 14,886 new cases reported between Feb. 12 and Thursday. The previous week saw 20,347 cases.

The share of Pennsylvanians testing positive for the virus also is dropping: Only 6.5% of people who were tested for COVID-19 last week received a positive result.

The downward trend has been ongoing for several weeks, bringing new cases back to levels not seen since November. But the pandemic continues to spread much more than it did in the summer.

On Friday, Pennsylvania added 2,778 cases of COVID-19 to its tally and confirmed the deaths of 67 people from the disease.

The state’s totals now stand at 908,773 cases and 23,480 virus-related deaths since March.

The commonwealth also surpassed 2 million doses of vaccine administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The state Department of Health, whose numbers lag behind the CDC, reports closer to 1.9 million doses). There have so far been 2.7 million doses of

the vaccine distributed to the state.

In total, the CDC reports more than 1.4 million Pennsylvanians had received at least one dose of the two-shot vaccine as of Thursday. More than 500,000 people have been fully vaccinated. Using that data, The New York Times estimates 12% of the state has received at least one shot.

According to Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, more than 193,000 residents and staff at long-term care facilities have received their first shot through a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.

“This progress is a muchneeded reprieve for longterm care facilities that have been particularly challenged by COVID-19 and community transmission, and it’s a line of defense for our health care system as a whole,” state Secretary of Human Services Teresa Miller said in a release.

Of those who have been fully vaccinated, the Pennsylvania Department of Health estimates that just over 45,000 of them are in Allegheny County.

On Friday, the county Health Department reported 257 new cases of COVID-19. Among them, 187 are confirmed and 70 are probable cases. The county has recorded 74,317 cases of the virus to date.

Allegheny County also reported 18 new deaths from the virus.

Among those who died, two people were in their 40s, two more were in their 60s, one was over 70, eight were in their 80s and four were in their 90s. One was more than 100 years old. Four of the deaths were of people in long-term care facilities.

More information on COVID-19 and vaccines can be found on the county’s dashboard and the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.