The state reported 1,153 more cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, but the Health Department said more than 300 of those cases are not new and actually occurred as far back as June.
County-by-county tallies released by the department showed Philadelphia added 402 cases Wednesday.
But spokesperson Nate Wardle said, “Less than 100 of those cases were cases from the month of September. The remainder were all from previous months, all the way back to June.”
The figure is four times the 98 additional cases reported in the city Tuesday.
That means the implied statewide new-case figure of 1,153 on Wednesday actually is 851 or fewer, with the balance being 30 days old or older.
The Democratic Wolf administration’s public distribution of data on COVID-19 had similar problems earlier in the year.
On Wednesday, Republican state Rep. Seth Grove of York County said that reporting cases when they actually occur is important.
“It is a frustration that should be corrected, and there are ways to correct it,” Grove said. “It is a matter of them wanting to do it.”
The newly reported cases brought the state total to 158,967, including 19 in Lehigh County and 10 in Northampton County.
Nineteen more deaths were reported to bring the state total to 8,142.
There were 539 people hospitalized for the virus around midday Wednesday. The figure has hovered between 400 and 550 for much of the past month.
The 7-day moving average of additional cases was 918 Wednesday, up from 793 a week earlier.
Levine, speaking to reporters at a news conference, said there have been significant increases in cases in central-region states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma, and she is concerned about those increases reaching Pennsylvania.
“I have concerns about a potential increase in cases as we enter the fall,” she said. “As we go into colder weather, people spend more time indoors. Cold weather with less humidity does impact the spread of respiratory viruses such as the flu and COVID-19.”
She called the anticipated upcoming overlap of flu season and an ongoing virus pandemic “very serious.”
“No one knows what happens if you get COVID-19 and influenza at the same time, which highlights the extreme importance of getting a flu shot this year,” Levine said.
In addition, Levine said the state has had “significant conversations” with the federal government about Pennsylvania’s preparations to distribute a vaccine, when it becomes available.
Morning call staffer Eugene Tauber contributed to this report.
Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com
