Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said 807 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, continuing the dip in new cases over the past week.
Levine reported the new numbers at a press conference with Gov. Tom Wolf on efforts to expand testing capacity across the state. Since the emergence of the pandemic, 116,521 Pennsylvanians have contracted the coronavirus, Levine said.
Over the past week, the state has averaged less than 800 new cases per day. In the previous seven-day period, the state was averaging almost 1,000 new cases per day. The state hasn’t registered 1,000 new infections in a day since July 28.
Across Pennsylvania, 7,282 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, Levine said Thursday. Based on that number, the state is reporting 38 new fatalities over the past day. More than two-thirds of the state’s coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, according to the health department.
Levine noted the state has boosted its testing capacity and is administering, on average, about 22,000 tests per day. At the peak of the virus in April, the state was performing about 8,000 tests per day.
The state is partnering with Walmart and Quest Laboratories to offer more locations for people to get tested. Walmart launched nine new testing sites Wednesday, in addition to some testing sites already in operation at some of the retailer’s locations in Pennsylvania.
The governor said such efforts are critical to stem the spread of COVID-19. He said it’s not enough to get tests; people have to be able to have access to them.
“We’re going to continue to build up our testing and contact tracing,” Wolf said.
In the news conference, Wolf said just under 5 percent of the state’s tests are positive, which is just below the benchmark health professionals have cited as a level of concern.
Wolf and Levine acknowledged the delay in getting test results that’s been seen nationally, as laboratories have been overwhelmed with cases and also been confronted with a shortage of supplies. Some of those tested have waited as long as 14 days to get results, which Levine said is too long.
Levine said the state is trying to obtain re-agents, which are necessary to conduct COVID-19 tests, from sources across the world.
After a steady rise in coronavirus cases since late June, the number of new cases has dropped a bit in recent days.
Here’s a look at new cases over the past five weeks.
July 3-9: 4,793 new cases, an average of 684 per day
July 10-16: 5,579 new cases, an average of 797 per day
July 17-23: 5,912 new cases, an average of 844 per day
July 24-30: 6,720 new cases, an average of 960 per day
July 31-Aug. 6: 5,443 new cases, an average of 777 per day
There are 1,183,730 people who have tested negative to date, according to the health department.
Wolf and Levine continue to stress the importance of social distancing and wearing masks to slow the spread of COVID-19. They said it’s particularly important to keep cases from spiking as schools and colleges prepare to open their doors to students later this month.
Across Pennsylvania, 4,943 coronavirus deaths have occurred in nursing homes and personal care homes, according to the health department.
The department said 19,799 residents in long-term care facilities have contracted COVID-19, along with 4,071 employees. A total of 23,870 people have contracted the virus in long-term care facilities.
Cases have been found at 870 long-term care facilities in 61 counties.
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