Pennsylvania Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine held a briefing Monday at 11:30 a.m., where she discussed the performance of COVID-19 in the commonwealth and provided an update on the Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard.
According to an ABC33 report, the Health Department announced a two-day increase of 8,663 positive cases of COVID-19 and 203 new deaths since Saturday’s report, where 7,174 new cases and 26 new deaths were accounted.
There were 3,779 additional positive cases as of Monday, and 4,884 cases reported Sunday. That brings the statewide total to 613,804 cases and 15,086 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
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The Health Department states that there are 5,905 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, near double the peak in the spring. Of that number, 1,145 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
Hospitalized patients
The trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 5,600 since the end of September.
Statewide percent positivity for the week of December 18 to December 24 stood at 15.1%.
Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine encourages Pennsylvanians to stay vigilant and continue taking precautions to keep themselves safe, including social distancing and wearing masks.
County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
There are 48,136 individuals who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases and 639 individuals who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.
There are 3,238,091 individuals who have tested negative to date.
As stated by the Health Department in nursing and personal care homes, there are 51,420 resident cases of COVID-19, and 9,219 cases among employees, for a total of 60,639 at 1,457 distinct facilities in all 67 counties. Out of our total deaths, 8,470 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.