Centre County Adds 91 COVID-19 Cases; Pennsylvania Reports 6,808 New Positives

Centre County reported 91 new COVID-19 cases on Friday to bring its total to 5,502, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county also had 679 new negative test results, increasing its total to 43,179.

Statewide, Pennsylvania had 6,808 new positives, bringing its total to 295,786. Friday’s total was the commonwealth’s second highest to date. There were 19,343 new negative results statewide to bring the total to 2,648,870.

Centre County’s positivity rate for the past week was 6.4%, fifth lowest in the state and down from 8.4% the previous week, according to DOH’s updated early-warning monitoring dashboard. The statewide positivity rate for the last seven days was 11.1%

Mount Nittany Medical Center has 27 COVID-19 inpatients, ages 31 to 94, as of Friday morning, a hospital spokesperson said. Since Nov. 1, the hospital has admitted 70 COVID-positive patients and has had an average of 18 COVID inpatients per day. For the month of October there were a total of 58 COVID patients admitted and an average of 11 COVID inpatients per day. In September, 16 COVID patients were admitted for the entire month.

“COVID-19 is surging across the country and the increased numbers we are seeing in our own community are certainly a cause for concern,’ Mount Nittany Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi said in a statement. ‘Even with the prospects for a vaccine looking good, the virus will be part of our lives for at least several months and perhaps longer.

Joshi urged community members to wear a mask, wash their hands, practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings.

‘Our outstanding team is doing everything possible to care for the increasing number of COVID patients while also providing access for those who need general medical or surgical care,’ he said. ‘At the same time, we need your help and are asking everyone to do their part and take precautions that reduce the spread of the virus. This is especially important during holiday season – a time when we would normally be traveling and gathering with loved ones. If appropriate preventive measures are not consistently followed, concerns are that cases may rise further around the holidays.’

Across the state, COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise, with 3,162 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 661 in intensive care and 351 on ventilators.

DOH reported 108 new deaths attributed to the virus statewide, increasing Pennsylvania’s to 9,689. The health department lists 33 total COVID-19 deaths among Centre County residents since the onset of the pandemic. The county coroner’s office also has confirmed 33, ranging in age from 62 to 104.

Most COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have been patients 65 and older.

Centre County nursing and personal care homes reported seven new positives among residents and seven. A total of 13 long-term care facilities in the county have had a combined 304 resident cases and 69 employee cases.

An estimated 65% of COVID-19 patients in the state have recovered, according to a DOH calculation.

Among Pennsylvania’s total cases, 276,455 are confirmed and 19,331 are probable. In Centre County, 5,221 are confirmed and 281 are probable.

Centre County’s cases by zip code, according to available DOH data:

*Note: Specific numbers for zip codes with 1-4 cases are redacted by the health department. Increases are in brackets. Cases are not always immediately assigned to zip codes

16801 (State College): 2,900 confirmed [+33], 129 probable [-1]

16802 (University Park): 766 confirmed [-1], 16 probable

16803 (State College): 378 confirmed [+8], 30 probable

16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 444 confirmed [+11], 31 probable

16866 (Philipsburg): 124 confirmed [+19], 13 probable

16870 (Port Matilda): 78 confirmed [+2], 10 probable

16828 (Centre Hall): 56 confirmed [+4], 7 probable

16827 (Boalsburg): 54 confirmed, 5 probable

16841 (Howard): 52 confirmed [+3], 9 probable

16875 (Spring Mills): 49 confirmed, 7 probable [+2]

16853 (Milesburg): 33 confirmed

16877 (Warrior’s Mark) 22 confirmed, 1-4 probable

16851 (Lemont) 17 confirmed

16820 (Aaronsburg) 16 confirmed [+1], 1-4 probable

16874 (Snow Shoe) 15 confirmed

16845 (Karthaus) 13 confirmed

16854 (Millheim) 13 confirmed [+1], 1-4 probable

16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace) 13 confirmed [+1], 1-4 probable

16844 (Julian) 13 confirmed [+1]

16872 (Rebersburg) 13 confirmed [+3], 1-4 probable

16829 (Clarence) 12 confirmed, 1-4 probable

16826 (Blanchard) 10 confirmed [+1]

16832 (Coburn) 8 confirmed [+1]

16804 (State College) 7 confirmed

16868 (Pine Grove Mills) 6 confirmed, 1-4 probable

16677 (Sandy Ridge) 6 confirmed [+1]

16856 (Mingoville) 5 confirmed

16835 (Fleming), 16852 (Madisonburg), 16859 (Moshannon), 16864 (Orviston) and 16882 (Woodward) each have 1-4 confirmed or probable cases.

Among Centre County’s bordering counties, Blair now has 3,105 [+233] total cases, Huntingdon has 1,488 [+27], Mifflin has 1,202 [+66], Union has 1,187 [+103], Clearfield has 1,076 [+61] and Clinton has 490 [+22].