1 PA County Remains In COVID-19 Red Zone: White House Task Force
PENNSYLVANIA — New coronavirus cases and test positivity rates have stabilized in Pennsylvania, the White House Coronavirus Task Force said this week in its latest state-level report.
Still, one county — Centre — remains in the coronavirus "red" zone. One is in the "orange" zone and five are in the "yellow" zone.
The task force's state-level reports summarize coronavirus activity and offer recommendations to state leaders based on trends. Pennsylvania's most recent report was dated Sept. 27.
The Center for Public Integrity has been collecting and disseminating the weekly reports, which are sent by the task force to governors around the country. The reports aren't made public by the task force.
In addition to assessing recent data, the report makes recommendations for officials to follow as it responds to the pandemic.
The task force is recommending Penn State and Indiana University — where recent outbreaks have been reported — be "monitored closely." Centre County, the sole red zone county, is home to Penn State's University Park Campus.
RELATED: Coronavirus Spike At Penn State Alarms Top PA Health Officials
In the previous report issued Sept. 20, there were two Pennsylvania counties in the red zone. Counties in the red zone have reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result above 10 percent. Indiana County, previously red, is now in the yellow zone, the Sept. 27 report said.
Northumberland County is in the orange zone, which means it has reported between 51 and 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 8 and 10 percent.
Counties in the yellow zone have reported between 10 and 50 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 5 and 7.9 percent. In addition to Indiana, counties listed in the yellow zone in the most recent report include York, Juniata, Lebanon, and Perry.
Overall, Pennsylvania remains in the yellow zone for cases and in the green zone for test positivity. The state's new case rate remains below the national average, with 43 cases per 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 93 per 100,000 residents.
Pennsylvania reported 1,153 additional positive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 158,967. There have been 8,142 coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania since the onset of the pandemic.
The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report for Pennsylvania can be viewed in full here.
This article originally appeared on the Across Pennsylvania Patch
