Pennsylvania coronavirus update: Northampton leads 9 other counties in ‘high’ community transmission level; Lehigh on precipice

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,520 additional coronavirus cases on Saturday. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 1,557, more than 8 times higher than it was a month ago.

To date, there have been 1.24 million infections statewide.

Northampton continues to have the highest population-adjusted weekly case rate of the state’s 67 counties. But it is joined by nine other counties in topping the 100 population-adjusted rate that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses to delineate “high” community transmission levels.

Deaths

Overall: Four compared with eight on Friday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 7.4, compared with 3.9 a week ago, an increase of 93% in the last seven days.

Senior Care: No report Saturday, leaving the total at 13,420, accounting for 48.1% of the state’s 27,902 deaths.

Vaccinations

The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show:

There are 6.78 million fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania, accounting for 53% of the population. An additional 1.73 million people are in need of their follow-up shot. In total, 14.75 million shots have been put into the arms of 8.51 million people, or 66% of the state’s residents.

Included in those statewide numbers are 373,171 Lehigh Valley residents who are fully vaccinated, accounting for 55.3% of the local population. In total, 476,204 locals have received 748,695 shots in the arm, accounting for 70.6% of the Valley’s population.

Hospitalizations

There were 692 people hospitalized as of midday Saturday compared with 668 Friday. Of those, 167 were in intensive care, and 77 were on ventilators. The seven-day moving average of COVID hospitalizations is 587, nearly double the rate from a month ago.

Hospitals in the Lehigh Valley reported 45 COVID-19 patients Saturday compared with 44 Friday, including 15 in intensive care, and five on ventilators.

Testing

There were 9,394 test results reported Saturday, with 13.6% of them positive, compared with 14.0% on Friday.

The overall positive test rate is 17.2% since the state’s first cases were reported March 6 of last year.

Lehigh Valley

Cases: 150 additional case reports, with 69 in Lehigh County, 81 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 77,426.

Deaths: One new death, in Lehigh County, compared with none the day before. That brings the total to 1,592 (872 in Lehigh, and 720 in Northampton).

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