Centre County Adds 33 COVID-19 Cases; Pennsylvania Reports 4,663 New Positives

Centre County reported 33 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday to bring its total to 20,907 according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Among total cases, 18,908 are confirmed and 1,999 are probable.

Pennsylvania added 4,663 positives to increase the statewide total to 1,590,139.

The county also had 113 new negative test results for a total of 83,179. Statewide, there were 8,291 negatives to bring the total to 5,760,781.

Deaths

DOH reported no new deaths attributed to the virus among Centre County residents, keeping the total at 246.

With 43 new COVID-19 deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry, the statewide total is now 31,898.

Hospitalizations

According to the DOH hospital preparedness dashboard, 32 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Centre County, unchanged from Friday, with three in intensive care [-1] and two on ventilators [-1].

Mount Nittany Medical Center had an average daily COVID-19 inpatient census of 34 in October, with the same average continuing through the first week of November. In October 2020, the medical center’s average COVID inpatient census was 11.

“The number of COVID cases and hospitalizations in the community continue to be a concern for us,” Dr. Upendra Thaker, the hospital’s chief medical officer said on Friday. “This not only puts a strain on healthcare workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center but can also impact other resources.”

Pennsylvania has 2,523 COVID-19 inpatients, a decrease of 53 since Friday, with 570 in intensive care [-22] and 347 on ventilators [-13].

For the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4, Pennsylvania had 2,651.6 average daily COVID hospitalizations, down from 3,020 the prior week, according to the updated Department of Health early warning monitoring dashboard.

An estimated 91% of COVID-19 patients in the state have recovered, according to a DOH calculation that considers a case as recovered if it has not been reported as a death and it is more than 30 days past the date of the first positive test or onset of symptoms.

Positivity rate

Centre County’s PCR testing positivity rate for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4 was 7.2%, down from 7.7% the previous seven days, according to the monitoring dashboard. The rate was 10th lowest among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

The county had 218 new cases for that seven-day period, 43 fewer than the prior week.

The statewide positivity rate was 9.3%, up from 8.7% the previous seven days. The commonwealth had 21,157 new positives between Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 37 more than the prior week.

Cases Among Children

For the 2021-2022 school year, DOH is providing weekly updated case counts for two age groups: 0-4 capturing preschool and daycare age children and 5-18 capturing kindergarten through high school age children. The case counts do not necessarily represent exposure in school or daycare settings and the location of exposure cannot be determined in most cases.

For the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2, there were nine new cases among children in the 0-4 age group and 36 in the 5-18 age group in Centre County. About 20% of all cases in Centre County that week were among children 0-18.

Since Aug. 16, there have been 778 cases among individuals between the ages of 0 and 18 in Centre County — 113 between the ages of 0-4 and 620 between the ages of 5 and 18 — representing about 22% of all cases during that time.

Transmission level

Centre County remains at the highest level for community transmission of COVID-19 on the Centers for Disease Control scale, according to the latest county-level data update on Friday.

Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, all but one are at the highest level of transmission. Philadelphia is at the substantial level, which is the second highest on the CDC scale.

Transmission levels are based on positivity rate and cases per 100,000 people for the previous seven days. At the substantial and high levels, CDC guidance recommends all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in public indoor settings.

Vaccinations

As of Saturday morning, 85,137 people in Centre County are fully vaccinated [+86 since Friday] and 7,433 are partially covered [+97]. Third doses have been administered to 13,760 county residents [+613].

Among the county’s entire population, 66.9% have received at least one dose and 55.2% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among adult residents, 74.7% have received at least one dose and 61.5% are fully vaccinated.

Statewide, 72.2% of adults and 60.9% of the total population are fully vaccinated. Pennsylvania is fifth in the nation for total doses administered, according the CDC.

Vaccination appointments through Centre Volunteers in Medicine, Mount Nittany Health and through other pharmacies and providers listed at vaccines.gov.

The CDC on Tuesday approved the pediatric Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 11.

CVIM is accepting sign-ups and held its first appointments for those ages on Saturday.

Parents or guardians of children who are patients of Mount Nittany Health Physician Group practices can make an appointment by calling 814-466-7921.

Geisinger is offering the pediatric vaccine by appointments made through MyGeisinger or by calling 570-284-3657. Appointments began at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital on Saturday, and will start at Philipsburg on Nov. 9 and Healthplex State College on Nov. 13.

Centre County’s cases by zip code:

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

16801 (State College): 6,335 confirmed [+2], 523 probable [+1]

16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 3,456 confirmed [+9], 340 probable [-1]

16803 (State College): 1,784 confirmed [+1], 265 probable [+1]

16802 (University Park): 1,551 confirmed [+1], 79 probable [+2]

16866 (Philipsburg): 1,137 confirmed [+2], 174 probable [+1]

16870 (Port Matilda): 694 confirmed [+1], 103 probable

16841 (Howard): 620 confirmed, 73 probable

16828 (Centre Hall): 429 confirmed, 48 probable

16875 (Spring Mills): 419 confirmed [+3], 55 probable

16827 (Boalsburg): 402 confirmed, 56 probable

16845 (Karthaus): 323 confirmed, 20 probable

16844 (Julian): 312 confirmed [+2], 34 probable

16853 (Milesburg): 170 confirmed, 12 probable

16877 (Warrior’s Mark): 168 confirmed, 21 probable

16874 (Snow Shoe): 151 confirmed, 25 probable

16826 (Blanchard): 134 confirmed [+1], 13 probable

16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 114 confirmed [+1], 11 probable

16829 (Clarence): 110 confirmed, 23 probable

16854 (Millheim): 106 confirmed, 9 probable [+1]

16820 (Aaronsburg): 102 confirmed, 21 probable

16872 (Rebersburg): 90 confirmed [+2], 11 probable

16851 (Lemont): 83 confirmed, 15 probable

16859 (Moshannon): 58 confirmed, 5 probable

16832 (Coburn): 53 confirmed, 5 probable

16677 (Sandy Ridge): 45 confirmed, 1-4 probable

16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 38 confirmed, 6 probable

16835 (Fleming): 33 confirmed, 7 probable

16852 (Madisonburg): 32 confirmed, 5 probable

16856 (Mingoville): 31 confirmed, 8 probable

16882 (Woodward): 18 confirmed, 1-4 confirmed

16863 (Orviston): 14 confirmed

16804 (State College): 12 confirmed

Cases among Centre County’s bordering counties

Blair: 18,170 [+100]

Clearfield: 11,538 [+45]

Union: 7,625 [+13]

Mifflin: 7,433 [+10]

Huntingdon: 6,980 [+21]

Clinton: 5,193 [+46]