Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 1,470 new coronavirus cases

Twelve more people have died in Pennsylvania as a result of the coronavirus as the number of cases neared 13,000, state health officials said Monday.

The death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported throughout the day Sunday brings the statewide total to 12,980.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine acknowledged that the number of new cases leveled off some over the weekend. She said the news was encouraging but could mean nothing.

“Whenever we have a plateau or even a decrease in terms of the numbers of new cases, I consider that good news; however, it is way too early to tell whether we are seeing a true plateau,” she said during a virtual news conference.

New cases crested 1,000 for the first time April 2 with 1,211. New cases were 1,404 on April 3 and 1,597 on April 4.

Sunday’s new cases were 1,497, and Monday saw 1,470.

Gov. Tom Wolf reiterated that two days’ worth of data is not enough to tell if tides are turning, but he said the numbers show social distancing “seems to be making a difference.”

He said the early exponential rise in new cases has given way to flatter increase, and that could mean the expected surge in cases and hospitalizations will not be quite so dire.

“That’s our fervent hope,” he said.

Levine offered new data borne out of an order late last month requiring hospitals to report real-time numbers to the state three times a day.

As of noon Monday, 1,613 covid-19 patients were actively hospitalized because of the virus, and 533 were on ventilators. That translates to about 12% of all patients currently being hospitalized and one-third of all hospitalized patients needing a breathing machine.

Of all regular hospital beds across the state, about 51% are available, Levine said, and 40% of the approximately 3,400 intensive care beds are available. Nearly 70% of ventilators in hospitals statewide are still available.

She said officials have discovered the state has around 5,000 ventilators available, more than twice the number originally thought. She said the number continued to grow as more hospitals got their numbers to the state.

Levine reiterated that health officials are unable to track covid-19 recoveries.

“We have no way of tracking when someone, for instance, had a mild illness, they were at home as instructed, they were isolated, they recovered, they followed CDC guidance … and now they are fine,” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that those who are self-isolated with the illness can end their isolation after they have gone at least three days without a fever or respiratory issues and at least a week has passed since the symptoms first appeared.

Levine said she hopes to release data on the number of coronavirus-related hospital discharges later this week.

In Allegheny County, 37 new cases brought the county total to 642. Four people have died in the county, including two over the weekend. Westmoreland County reported 10 new cases, and the countywide total stands at 157.

Only two of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have not reported a case of covid-19: Elk and Jefferson.

Data shows 70,874 people have tested negative for the virus, meaning about 15% have tested positive.

A breakdown of covid-19 cases by age:

​0-4: ​< 1%

​5-12: ​< 1%

​13-18: ​1%

​19-24: 7%

​25-49: ​42%

​50-64: ​29%

​65+: ​20%

Hospitalizations by age:

​0-4: ​< 1%

​5-12: ​0%

​13-18: ​< 1%

​19-24: 1%

​25-49: 19%

​50-64:​ 28%

​65+: ​51%