by PublicSource Reporters
Allegheny County surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 cases Wednesday with health officials reporting 14 new COVID- 19 infections and eight COVID-related fatalities, bringing the county tally since March 14 to 10,004 infections and 317 deaths.
The new cases come from 1,151 tests conducted from Aug. 21 through Aug. 25. Roughly 71% of the new cases were in people younger than 50.
The new fatalities were patients aged 60 years and older, who died between July 17 and Aug. 18. Four of the fatalities are associated with a long-term care facility, which includes nursing homes.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health [DOH] reported 501 new infections and 19 deaths Wednesday, bringing the statewide tallies to 130,536 cases and 7,624 deaths.
Each region of the state has seen a significant increase in cases among younger Pennsylvanians, specifically 19 to 24 year olds. Southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh, however, has seen one of the greatest spikes in this age group. In April, roughly 5% of cases in the region were among 19 to 24 year olds. So far in August, the age group represented nearly 12% of new COVID infections, but that number had been as high as 21% in July.
Still, personal care and nursing homes continue to bear the brunt of the deaths, with residents representing 68% of all COVID-related fatalities in the state. Roughly 9,432, or 7.2% of all infections, are among healthcare workers, a percent that has remained fairly steady throughout the summer surge.
“The mitigation efforts in place now are essential as the new school year approaches and we work to ensure our children can get back to learning,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a press release on Tuesday.
Data on statewide hospitalizations can be found here.
County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
In addition to announcing six weeks of paid parental leave for state employees, Wolf also floated that the legislature should pass legalized recreational marijuana to create a new revenue stream, suspend the alcohol tax and allow the hospitality industry to purchase alcohol at near cost for six months.
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