As a result of our continued work to reconcile data from various sources, the state is reporting an increase of 554 new deaths today bringing the statewide total to 3,012 deaths in Pennsylvania. These deaths have occurred over the past two weeks.
Interesting to note is that 2,029 of those deaths have come from residents or employees at nursing homes throughout the state, and only 983 in the general.
Pennsylvania added 865 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, the third straight day of adding 1,000 cases or less to the totals.. According to information released on Pa. Department of Health’s website, there are currently 50,957 confirmed cases.
Dauphin County reported 43 new positive cases and one new death on Tuesday, while seven new positive tests were added in Schuylkill and Northumberland counties, bringing Dauphin’s total to 695 cases with 29 deaths, Schuylkill up to 405 cases with seven deaths, and Northumberland County at 107 confirmed cases.
In comparison, Philadelphia County, the hot spot of the state, added 244 cases in 24 hours and 203 deaths over the last two weeks, putting their totals at 13,563 positive cases and 627 deaths.
Officials say that the public’s effort on social distancing and wearing masks must continue to get things back to normal.
“As we prepare to move a number of counties from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders. I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”
As far as negative tests for each county, Dauphin is listed as having 4,176 negative tests while Schuylkill reported 2,279 negative tests and 683 in Northumberland County.
In nursing home and long-term care facilities, the numbers of the local counties went up as Dauphin County added 22 residents and three employees, and Schuylkill County added four residents and an employee. Dauphin County is listed in the table having three facilities affected, with 132 cases among residents, 29 cases among employees and 21 deaths. Schuylkill County has 31 residents and seven employees affected in six facilities, and Northumberland County has six residents and two employees at one facility All total, 495 facilities are reporting 9,625 cases among residents and 1,284 among employees, and have accounted for 2,029 of Pennsylvania’s 3,012 deaths attributed to the coronavirus.
The state also updated numbers of age ranges of the positive cases and hospitalizations to date. Currently 2,580 Pennsylvania residents are hospitalized with the virus and its complications, down 111 patients from the day before
The breakdown is as follows:
Positive cases
Ages 0-4, <1%; 5-12, <1%; 13-18, 1%; 19-24, 6%; 25-49, 38%; 50-64, 27%, 65+, 27%
Hospitalizations
Ages 0-29, 2%; 30-49, 5%; 50-64, 10%; 65-79, 20%; 80+, 19%
The counties affected and the number of confirmed cases, with the number of deaths in parentheses, are:
Adams-148 (5), Allegheny-1,375 (109), Armstrong-53 (3), Beaver-466 (73), Bedford-26 (1), Berks-3,004 (147), Blair-25, Bradford-35 (2), Bucks-3,445 (283), Butler-184 (6), Cambria-34 (1), Cameron-2 Carbon-185 (15), Centre-106 (1), Chester-1,601 (149), Clarion-23 (1), Clearfield-21, Clinton-33, Columbia-298 (16), Crawford-19, Cumberland-382 (25), Dauphin-695 (29), Delaware-4,269 (318), Elk-4, Erie-93 (2), Fayette-84 (4), Forest-7, Franklin-396 (9), Fulton-7, Greene-27 (1), Huntingdon-59, Indiana-74 (5), Jefferson-6, Juniata-86 (1), Lackawanna-1,038 (103), Lancaster-2,018 (144), Lawrence-67 (7), Lebanon-766 (15), Lehigh-2,999 (94), Luzerne-2,280 (104), Lycoming-86 (4), McKean-6, Mercer-67 (1), Mifflin-42, Monroe-1,186 (60), Montgomery-4,687 (443), Montour-50, Northampton-2,279 (117), Northumberland-107, Perry-34 (1), Philadelphia-13,563 (627), Pike-412 (17), Potter-4, Schuylkill-405 (7), Snyder-33 (1), Somerset-30 (1), Sullivan-1, Susquehanna-86 (11), Tioga-16 (1), Union-38 (1), Venango-7, Warren-1, Washington-120 (2), Wayne-109 (5), Westmoreland-405 (27), Wyoming-27 (2), York-716 (11).
As of noon May 5, there have been 199,925 negative tests for the coronavirus, an increase of 4,427 over the day before.
What is coronavirus?
According to the Pa. Department of Health, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common throughout the world. These viruses can live in animals and at times, evolve and infect people before spreading through human to human contact.
Human coronaviruses are spread just like the common cold or the flu — either through the air through coughing or sneezing, through close personal contact like touching or shaking hands, or by touching an object or surface with the virus on it.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. The symptoms can appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after a person is exposed to the illness. Reported illnesses have ranged from people with little to no symptoms to severe illness and death. As of May 4, the U.S. Center for Disease Control reports there have been 1,152,372 cases of the Coronavirus reported in the U.S. with 67,456 deaths.
What can you do?
Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
If you must go out for a life-sustaining reason, please wear a mask.
The Pa. Department of Health offers these guidelines as the COVID-19 crisis continues.
Stay home as much as possible. Try to get groceries once per week instead of daily. Freedom of travel remains, but please refrain from non-essential travel. Essential travel includes things like commuting to an essential job, picking up supplies like groceries and medicine, and checking on family and pets in other households. Do not host or attend gatherings.