The state Department of Health on Thursday reported 719 new cases of coronavirus, including 158 in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County.
The statewide total now stands at 92,867. Of the the newly reported cases, 29 were in the Lehigh Valley, with 16 new cases in Lehigh County and 13 new cases in Northampton County.
Neither county has reported more than 20 new cases in a single day within the past week. Their totals are now 4,370 cases in Lehigh and 3,513 in Northampton.
Establishing itself as a hotspot, Allegheny County’s 158 figure marked its 10th straight day of more than 100 new cases, after a long stretch where it had less than 100 every day.
The Allegheny surge has occurred as residents patronize eating and drinking establishments and head to out-of-state virus hot spots. Health officials have imposed restrictions on restaurants and bars, shuttered a casino and limited gatherings.
Meanwhile, there were a combined 48 new cases on Thursday in four counties that border Allegheny: Butler, Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland.
It was the lowest combined figure for the four counties in nine days ? since 32 were reported on June 30 ? in an area the state has eyed with concern for a potential outbreak following a recent surge in cases.
Health Department spokeswoman April Hutcheson on Thursday said a one-day drop did not constitute a trend.
“We are continuing to watch and communicate with those counties,” she said.
The case numbers reported by the state are mostly confirmed cases ? meaning the individual tested positive for coronavirus ? but they also include some probable cases.
Among the scenarios that would cause someone to be listed as a probable case is one in which the individual has not been tested but shows symptoms and has had close contact with a confirmed case.
On Tuesday, the state added 995 cases to its tally, the largest one-day increase since May 10. But the state said 288 cases for Philadelphia that pumped up Tuesday’s total were actually logged “over several weeks.”
Republican state Rep. Seth Grove of York County on Thursday said such “data dumps” have decreased public confidence in state data.
“People looking at it say, ‘Oh my gosh, we have a massive number,’ and that perpetuates fear,” he said. “If you are dumping the data in there, it skews your entire trendline.”
Grove suggested federal coronavirus relief money be used to help the Department of Health improve its data system.
Hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized for the virus Thursday approached 650, according to state data.
The figure around the same time Wednesday was 649, and it has ranged between 589 and 650 for the last 12 days.
State Sen. Mario Scavello, a Monroe County Republican, said the two hospitals in his county have had very few hospitalizations for COVID-19 in recent days.
Back in late March and early April, Monroe was a virus hotspot, with more than 70 new cases on some days and a warning from one hospital that more than half of new admissions were for the virus.
Scavello said information from the hospitals on Thursday made him believe people getting the virus in his region are not as sick as those who acquired it several months ago.
State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat, said statewide data has shown a flip-flop: Several months ago, eastern counties posted the greatest concern, but now concern is focused on the southwest.
The relatively low hospitalization rates in Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties, he said, likely reflect the fact that overall, fewer people are getting sick than a few months ago.
But he also noted that new virus cases are skewing more toward younger people, who are less likely to get seriously ill from it than seniors.
Deaths
The state reported 36 more deaths from the virus to bring the statewide total to 6,848.
Three more deaths were reported in Lehigh County on Thursday to bring the total there to 315, while the total in Northampton County stands at 276.
Other developments
In other virus-related developments:
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday said $10 million of federal coronavirus relief money would be made available to Pennsylvania businesses that “have worked to maintain access to fresh, healthy food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.” More information on the Fresh Food Financing Initiative COVID-19 Relief Fund may be found on the state Department of Agriculture website.
Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the state had formed a partnership with the Lancaster affiliate of the Luxembourg-based company Eurofins to assist with COVID-19 testing in nursing homes.
Statewide moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures set to expire Friday have been extended to the end of August under a new executive order issued by Wolf.
Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com
