Centre County Adds 6 COVID-19 Cases; Statewide Hospitalizations Lowest in 8 Months

Centre County recorded six new COVID-19 cases on Friday as statewide hospitalizations linked to the virus fell to their lowest level in eight months, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The county’s new cases mark the fourth single-digit increase in the last week and bring the total to 35,093 (31,156 confirmed and 3,937 probable) since March 2020. Centre County’s seven-day moving average for new cases is 8.9, down from 9.3 a week ago and 21.9 a month ago.

Pennsylvania reported fewer than 1,000 new positives for the 21st time in 22 days. The 821 new cases bring the statewide total to 2,782,174.

The commonwealth’s seven-day average is 588, down from 601 a week ago and 1,418 a month ago.

Hospitalizations

Mount Nittany Medical Center has two COVID-19 inpatients, unchanged from Thursday, with neither in intensive care or on a ventilator. Ages and vaccination status were withheld by the hospital to protect patient privacy.

Statewide, COVID-19 hospitalizations fell to their lowest level since July 28. According to the DOH hospital preparedness dashboard, 458 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Pennsylvania, 23 fewer than on Thursday, with 61 in intensive care [-14] and 50 on ventilators [-4].

Deaths

DOH reported no new deaths attributed to the virus among Centre County residents, keeping the total at 346.

With 20 new COVID-19 deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry, the statewide total is now 44,295.

Prison cases

Rockview state prison has no COVID-19 cases among inmates or staff, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Centre County’s other state prison, Benner, has one case among inmates and one among staff.

At Benner, 1,407 inmates are fully vaccinated, 20 are partially vaccinated and 196 are not vaccinated. Among staff, 313 are fully vaccinated and 316 are not vaccinated.

Rockview has 1,710 inmates who are fully vaccinated, two who are partially vaccinated and 82 who are not vaccinated. Among staff, 348 are fully vaccinated and 370 are not vaccinated.

Community level

Centre County remains at the “low” community level for COVID-19 for the fourth consecutive week, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest update on Thursday.

Introduced on Feb. 25, community levels measure not only new cases, but also new hospitalizations and local hospital capacity to determine mitigation guidelines. At the low level, there is no recommendation for indoor masking.

Statewide, 64 of 67 counties are at the low level, with Bradford, Sullivan and Susquehanna at the medium level. At the medium level, the CDC recommends masks indoors in public for those at risk of severe illness. At the high level, universal indoor public masking is recommended.

Vaccinations

As of Friday morning, 94,793 people in Centre County are fully vaccinated, an increase of 38 since Thursday, and 14,221 are partially covered [+5]. Booster doses have been administered to 49,821 county residents [+36]

Among the county’s entire population, 69.8% have received at least one dose, 59.4% are fully vaccinated and 51.3% are fully vaccinated with a booster, according to the CDC. Among adult residents, 75.2% have received at least one dose, 63.5% are fully vaccinated and 53.9% have received a booster.

Statewide, 77% of adults and 67.6% of the total population are fully vaccinated.

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

All individuals age 12 and older are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. All individuals 50 and older and certain immunocompromised individuals are now eligible for a second booster shot.

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): 8,583 confirmed [+1], 1,198 probable [+1]

16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 6,205 confirmed [+1], 572 probable

16803 (State College): 3,237 confirmed, 665 probable [+2]

16866 (Philipsburg): 2,081 confirmed [+2], 297 probable

16802 (University Park): 1,846 confirmed, 278 probable

16870 (Port Matilda): 1,285 confirmed, 171 probable

16841 (Howard): 1,084 confirmed, 100 probable

16828 (Centre Hall): 785 confirmed, 81 probable

16827 (Boalsburg): 742 confirmed, 101 probable

16875 (Spring Mills): 649 confirmed, 73 probable

16844 (Julian): 541 confirmed, 52 probable

16845 (Karthaus): 519 confirmed, 35 probable

16877 (Warrior’s Mark): 299 confirmed, 29 probable

16853 (Milesburg): 285 confirmed, 20 probable

16874 (Snow Shoe): 279 confirmed, 38 probable

16826 (Blanchard): 245 confirmed, 16 probable

16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 223 confirmed, 22 probable

16820 (Aaronsburg): 193 confirmed, 25 probable

16854 (Millheim): 181 confirmed, 15 probable

16829 (Clarence): 180 confirmed, 25 probable

16872 (Rebersburg): 167 confirmed, 16 probable

16851 (Lemont): 159 confirmed, 26 probable

16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 100 confirmed, 11 probable

16859 (Moshannon): 98 confirmed, 6 probable

16832 (Coburn): 90 confirmed, 9 probable

16677 (Sandy Ridge): 81 confirmed, 5 probable

16835 (Fleming): 59 confirmed, 8 probable

16856 (Mingoville): 51 confirmed, 10 probable

16852 (Madisonburg): 49 confirmed, 5 probable

16882 (Woodward): 40 confirmed, 5 confirmed

16804 (State College): 20 confirmed, 1-4 confirmed

16863 (Orviston): 20 confirmed

16805 (State College): 1-4 confirmed

Cases among Centre County’s bordering counties

Blair: 29,607 [+4]

Clearfield: 19,260 [+4]

Mifflin: 12,257 [+3]

Union: 11,678 [+1]

Huntingdon: 11,487 [+3]

Clinton: 9,028