Centre County Remains at Low COVID-19 Community Level; One-Third of Pa. Now at High Level

Centre County remains at the low community level for COVID-19 for the 11th consecutive week as more of Pennsylvania moved to medium and high amid rising cases and hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest weekly update.

Statewide, 27 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are at the low level. Seventeen are at the medium level, four more than last week and 23 are at the high level, 15 more than last week.

Community levels measure new cases, hospitalizations and local hospital capacity to determine mitigation guidelines. 

At the low level, a community has fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, with fewer than 10 COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people and less than 10% of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients over the same period.

Centre County had 190.9 new cases and 6.7 COVID-19 inpatient admissions per 100,000 people over the last week, with 2.9% of staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19.

Indoor masking in places open to the public is not recommended by the CDC at the low level. For communities at the medium level, masks are recommended for those with increased risk of severe illness. At the high level, universal indoor masking in public places open is recommended.

Centre County is among 63 in Pennsylvania that are at the high level of community transmission for COVID-19, a separate measure that factors new cases and positivity rates. At high transmission, a county has more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people and a testing positivity rate of 10% or higher over the last seven days.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s weekly update on Wednesday, Centre County added 310 total new cases over the last week, an 11% increase over new cases from the previous seven days. The county’s seven-day rolling average of 44 is its highest since mid-February.

Centre County’s PCR testing positivity rate for the last was 14.2%, up from 11.4% the previous week. The rate was 27th lowest among Pennsylvania counties.

As of Thursday, Mount Nittany Medical Center had 12 COVID-19 inpatients ranging in age from 33 to 85, with none in intensive care or on ventilators. Eleven of the inpatients are vaccinated and one is not vaccinated, according to the hospital’s COVID inpatient dashboard.

Over the last seven days, Mount Nittany has had an average daily COVID inpatient census of 9.4.

Pennsylvania recorded 27,997 new positives over the last week, a 28% increase from the prior week. The commonwealth’s seven-day average of 3,999 is the highest since Feb. 10.

The statewide positivity rate was 16.6%, up from 13.8% the previous seven days.

COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide were at their highest level since early March, with 1,156 COVID inpatients as of noon on Wednesday, including 135 in intensive care and 64 on ventilators.

Pennsylvania’s seven-day average for new COVID-19 hospital admissions is 166.14.