Pennsylvania hit 24,000 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus on Saturday and the state Department of Health registered 3,361 new cases, the second day in a row the new case count increased.
Active case counts at SCI-Coal Township and Bucknell University both saw significant drops on Saturday.
According to the DOH, 88 percent first-dose vaccine shots — 1,621,102 of 1,836,065 — have been administered while 51 percent of second doses — 686,623 of 1,336,835 — have been administered. More than 3.1 million doses of the vaccine have been allocated and 2.3 million had been administered by the end of Friday.
Saturday's new cases count marked the second day in a row with more than 3,000 new cases after seven consecutive days with fewer than 3,000 cases. There were 45 new cases in the Valley, including 16 in Northumberland County, 13 in Union County, nine in Montour and seven in Snyder County.
Statewide, there were 64 new deaths, the 13th time in the last two weeks there were fewer than 100 deaths. State officials confirmed two new COVID-related deaths in the Valley, one each in Montour and Snyder counties.
The positive test rate statewide fell to 6.3 percent last week, the 11th week in a row it has dropped. State health officials estimate 90 percent of residents who have tested positive since last March have recovered.
On-campus
The number of active cases at Bucknell University continues to drop. On Saturday morning, the university's dashboard showed 82 active cases, down 41 from Friday, including 77 students. The school reported 3 new positive tests on Friday. According to the school's online dashboard, 91 students are in isolation, a decrease of 30 from Friday's report.
Susquehanna University did update its dashboard on Saturday. On Friday, there were 27 active student cases — up six for the third day in a row — and no staff cases. There have been 43 total cases on campus this semester, including 33 students.
Nursing homes
As of noon Saturday, there have been 2,050 cases at 35 locations across the Valley, including 14 new cases in the latest release.
The state does not indicate how many cases are active at long-term care facilities, just the number of cases since the pandemic began last March.
In Montour County, there have been 284 resident and 68 staff cases at six locations. There have been 39 deaths at the facilities.
In Northumberland County, 20 facilities have combined for 996 resident cases and 243 staff cases. There have been 207 combined deaths.
In Snyder County, there have been 130 resident cases and 34 staffers at two locations. There have been 20 combined deaths at the two facilities.
In Union County, 247 resident cases, an increase of six since Friday, and 48 staff cases have been confirmed — along with 42 total deaths — at seven nursing homes.
Prisons, state facilities
As of Saturday morning, there are 56 active COVID cases at the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Lewisburg — up two from Friday — including 36 inmates and 20 staffers. At Allenwood, there is one positive inmate case at the low-security unit, two positive inmate cases at the medium-security unit and two positive staff cases at USP-Allenwood.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, 176 inmates and 148 staffers — up 136 staffers in one day — have become fully vaccinated at USP-Lewisburg. At Allenwood, 330 inmates and 367 staffers have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The number of active COVID cases has dropped from 165 to 111 at SCI Coal Township. There are 95 active inmate cases and 16 among staffers at the facility.
There are 23 active cases —15 people receiving services and eight staffers — at the Selinsgrove Center. There are no active cases at the Danville State Hospital.
