For the second time this week — and the fourth time this month — Pennsylvania has reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19.
State health officials on Friday reported 1,213 new cases, with Western Pennsylvania accounting for 365 of those. The statewide total is now 105,571.
Allegheny County topped 7,000 total cases of COVID-19 on Friday and saw its highest single-day increase in hospitalizations — 22 patients — since the first confirmed case in mid-March.
With an additional 198 new cases, Allegheny’s case total is now 7,015 cases. Hospitalizations now total 573 since March. Prior to Friday, the most recent highest single-day increase in hospitalizations was July 17, with 17 hospitalizations reported.
Statewide, there were an additional 22 deaths, six of which were reported in Western Pennsylvania: two in both Allegheny and Lawrence counties and one each in Somerset and Westmoreland counties.
The death toll in Allegheny County now stands at 221. The two new deaths were of a 54 and 89-year-old, who died on July 11 and July 22 respectively. The new state death toll now stands at 7,101.
State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a press conference on Friday that the southwestern part of the state has stabilized slightly since a recent spike, but the state plans to keep a close eye on the region.
The newly reported infections in Allegheny were diagnosed from 2,255 tests — more than 1,000 additional tests than Thursday — administered from July 6 through July 23, according to health officials. The new positive cases range in age from 9 to 93 years old, with the median age being 38.
Beaver County had the second-highest daily increase for Friday, with 31 new cases. Beaver currently has the highest percent positivity rate in the state at 8.7%.
Dr. Levine noted on Thursday that every region in the state has counties that have seen an increase in the percentage of positive tests. According to a statement released by the state health department on Friday, the state’s percent positivity rate is at 4.7% — which is up .3% from last week.
The statement also noted that Allegheny County was an area of concern with a percent positivity of 6.6%.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board also announced new guidelines for licensees that now correspond with the orders put into place last week by Gov. Tom Wolf. The orders require that alcoholic drinks must be purchased with a meal for on-site consumption. Additional drinks may be purchased, but once the meal is finished no further alcohol sales will be permitted.
Also, all bar service is prohibited, and customers must be seated at a table for food and alcohol consumption. In casinos, drinks service is no longer permitted on the casino floor.
Earlier this week, the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement issued warnings to 13 Pittsburgh establishments for not following the newest COVID-19 guidelines. The enforcement agents checked on 601 establishments.
These warnings were given out to bars and restaurants that weren't following masking rules, capacity limits or adhering to social distancing, state officials said. The LCE did not release the names of the bars or restaurants that were given warnings.
The compliance checks are performed anywhere within the state, but are currently focused in higher virus transmission areas, according to state officials.
On Friday, the state also updated it’s travel recommendations to include Missouri and Wyoming. A complete list of states visitors should quarantine after visiting can be found on the health department’s website.
Here is the total number of positive cases reported Friday in Western Pennsylvania:
• Allegheny: 7,015 (up 198 from Thursday)
• Armstrong: 138 (up 4)
• Beaver: 1,084 (up 31)
• Butler: 535 (up 16)
• Cambria: 205 (up 14)
• Clarion: 71 (no change)
• Clearfield: 110 (up 3)
• Crawford: 117 (up 3)
• Erie: 838 (up 20)
• Fayette: 301 (up 7)
• Forest: 7 (no change)
• Greene: 94 (up 1)
• Indiana: 193 (up 7)
• Jefferson: 48 (no change)
• Lawrence: 272 (up 11)
• Mercer: 289 (up 7)
• Somerset: 106 (up 1)
• Venango: 53 (no change)
• Washington: 637 (up 24)
• Westmoreland: 1,252 (up 18)
Here is the total number of deaths reported Friday in Western Pennsylvania:
• Allegheny: 221 (up 2 from Thursday. The state is reporting 216.)
• Armstrong: 6 (no change)
• Beaver: 82 (no change)
• Butler: 14 (no change)
• Cambria: 3 (no change)
• Clarion: 2 (no change)
• Clearfield: 0 (no change)
• Crawford:1 (no change)
• Erie: 14 (Erie County is reporting 17 as of Friday)
• Fayette: 4 (no change)
• Forest: 0 (no change)
• Greene: 0 (no change)
• Indiana: 6 (no change)
• Jefferson: 1 (no change)
• Lawrence: 11 (up 2)
• Mercer: 9 (no change)
• Somerset: 2 (up 1)
• Venango: 0 (no change)
• Washington: 10 (no change)
• Westmoreland: 42 (The Westmoreland County coroner, whose numbers were last updated July 23, is reporting 35)
Here’s a look at demographic data in Allegheny County, based on data reported Friday:
Cases by age:
• 0-9: 149 (2%)
• 10-19: 428 (6%)
• 20-29: 2,003 (29%)
• 30-39: 1,162 (17%)
• 40-49: 773 (11%)
• 50-59: 914 (13%)
• 60-69: 684 (10%)
• 70 and over: 902 (13%)
Deaths by age:
• 20-29: 1 (0%)
• 30-39: 1 (0%)
• 40-49: 2 (1%)
• 50-59: 10 (5%)
• 60-69: 26 (12%)
• 70 and over: 181 (82%)
Cases by gender:
• Female: 3,755 (54%)
• Male: 3,246 (46%)
Deaths by gender:
• Female: 129 (58%)
• Male: 92 (42%)
Cases by race:
• White: 3,935 (56%)
• Black: 1,956 (28%)
• Asian: 246 (4%)
• Other: 90 (1%)
• Race unknown: 788 (11%)
Deaths by race:
• White: 169 (76%)
• Black: 47 (21%)
• Asian: 1 (0%)
• Race unknown: 4 (2%)
Nursing and personal care homes
The state has released data — organized by county — about cases and deaths at nursing and personal care homes. Here’s information about Western Pennsylvania, based on Friday’s figures, with changes in deaths noted in parentheses:
• Allegheny: 69 facilities, 674 cases among residents, 221 cases among employees, 162 deaths (no change)
• Armstrong: 5 facilities, 29 cases among residents, 8 cases among employees, 5 deaths (no change)
• Beaver: 7 facilities, 453 cases among residents, 51 cases among employees, 85 deaths (up 2)
• Butler: 12 facilities, 20 cases among residents, 15 cases among employees, 2 deaths (no change)
• Cambria: 6 facilities, 16 cases among residents, 5 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Clarion: 2 facilities, 10 cases among residents, 4 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Clearfield: 3 facilities, 2 cases among residents, 2 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Crawford: 2 facilities, 11 cases among residents, 15 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Erie: 17 facilities, 70 cases among residents, 63 cases among employees, 11 deaths (up 1)
• Fayette: 5 facilities, 9 cases among residents, 6 cases among employees, 1 death (no change)
• Greene: 1 facility, 2 cases among residents, 1 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Indiana: 10 facilities, 26 cases among residents, 9 cases among employees, 4 deaths (no change)
• Jefferson: 1 facility, 4 cases among residents, 4 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Lawrence: 7 facilities, 37 cases among residents, 16 cases among employees, 1 death (no change)
• Mercer: 8 facilities, 35 cases among residents, 23 cases among employees, 2 deaths (no change)
• Somerset: 3 facilities, 2 cases among residents, 1 case among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Venango: 1 facility, 5 cases among residents, 0 cases among employees, 0 deaths (no change)
• Washington: 9 facilities, 21 cases among residents, 7 cases among employees, 2 deaths (no change)
• Westmoreland: 20 facilities, 159 cases among residents, 50 cases among employees, 29 deaths (no change)
• Pennsylvania: 813 facilities, 18,991 cases among residents, 3,737 cases among employees, 4,844 deaths (up 15)
For additional information on Allegheny County data, visit the county’s COVID-19 Dashboard. More information on statewide results can be found on the Pennsylvania Health Department’s website.
First Published: July 24, 2020, 3:38 p.m.
Updated: July 24, 2020, 4:42 p.m.
