Health & Fitness

Allegheny County Coronavirus Cases On The Rise

As new mask guidelines are suggested for much of the country, COVID-19 cases are rising in Allegheny County and across Pennsylvania.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA — Pennsylvania is experiencing increases in coronavirus cases and Allegheny County is contributing to that rise, according to state Department of Health metrics.

In the latest state reporting of COVID-19 metrics covering July 16-22, Allegheny County reported 71 more new cases than it did the week of July 9-15. The number of cases rose from 133 to 204.

Here's how Allegheny County fared in the rest of the state data:

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Rate Per 100,000 People: Increased from 10.9 per 100,000 residents to 16.8 per 1oo,000.

Testing positivity rate: Increased from 1.9 to 2.7 percent.

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Average number of daily COVID-19 specific hospitalizations: Increased from 28.7 to 44.7.

Average number of daily COVID-19 patients on ventilators: Decreased from 7.6 to 5.3.

Percentage of hospital emergency room visits due to COVID-19-like illness: Stayed constant at 0.4 percent.

In Pennsylvania, statewide coronavirus increases are occurring for the first time in weeks. The positivity rate on tests has increased by more than 1 percentage point, up to 2.8 percent, after falling as low as 1.7 percent last week.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention revised its mask guidelines on Tuesday, recommending that people wear masks indoors if they are in areas with substantial or high coronavirus transmission. That includes almost two-thirds of all counties in the country, but not
Allegheny or most counties in southwestern Pennsylvania that are experiencing only moderate transmission of the virus.

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