488 new cases; Lehigh Valley sees no new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 488 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, with no new deaths in the Lehigh Valley.
The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 559, down 38% from 909 a week ago, and down 81% over the last 30 days. It has been almost a year — since June 30 — that the seven-day average has been so low.
As of Saturday, Pennsylvania
ranks 19th among states for population-adjusted cases added over the last seven days. California remains the state with the lowest rate, adding seven cases per 100,000 residents over the last week.
To date, there have been 1.21 million infections statewide since the start of the pandemic.
Here are some other details from Saturday’s report:
Deaths
Overall: 24 compared with 30 on Friday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 21, compared with 25 a week ago, a decline of 16%.
Senior care: No new information Saturday, leaving the total at 13,309, accounting for 48.7% of the state’s 27,349 deaths.
Lehigh Valley
Cases: 21 additional case reports, with 15 in Lehigh County, six in Northampton County. That brings the total to 75,417.
Deaths: No new deaths, compared with three the day before. That brings the total to 1,571 (858 in Lehigh, and 713 in Northampton).
Hospitalizations
There were 855 people hospitalized as of midday Saturday compared with 850 Friday. Of those, 243 were in intensive care, and 115 were on ventilators. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has declined 56.5% in the last 30 days.
Hospitals in the Lehigh Valley reported 51 COVID-19 patients Saturday compared with 59 Friday, including 12 in intensive care, and 13 on ventilators.
Testing
There were 6,427 test results reported Saturday, with 6.1% of them positive, compared with 6.3% on Friday. The overall positive test rate is 17.9% since the state’s first cases were reported March 6 of last year.
Vaccinations
According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.71 million Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, accounting for 51.5% of the eligible 12-and-older population.
Almost 7.57 million residents — 68.3% of those eligible — have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
The same data show that 307,767 Lehigh Valley residents have completed their vaccination regimens, accounting for 52.9% of the eligible Valley population. The CDC tracks vaccinations by residence, no matter where or by whom an individual was inoculated.