In Allegheny County, the number of new covid-19 cases declined 39% in January from December.
The latest report from the Ministry of Health shows a total of 15,559 cases reported in January. In December, health officials reported 25,405 new cases.
In January there were an average of 502 newly reported cases per day, against 820 per day in December.
Monday, the health department reported 169 new cases – the lowest one-day report since Nov. 2 (120). In the past two days, 402 new cases have been reported in Allegheny County, a 35% decrease from a week ago (620).
From January 1-15, the province registered 9,549 new cases, while that from January 16-31 was 6,010.
Of the 402 newly reported cases, 366 were confirmed through 2,100 new PCR tests – ranging from December 14 to Sunday. The county reports that one of the positive tests was from December, while four are more than a week old.
Of the new cases, 36 are listed as probable. Health officials define a likely case as one in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a “high risk exposure” to someone confirmed to have coronavirus.
The county’s latest cases range in age from 2 months to 99 years, with an average age of 42 years.
Among the latest cases – 211 women, 191 men – the breakdown by age is:
• 0-4: 13 years
• 5-12 years: 19 years
• Ages 13-18: 16
• 19-24 years: 41 years
• Age 25-49: 144
• Age 50-64: 84
• 65 years and older: 85 years
The county reported another covid-related death in the past two days – starting Jan. 10. Officials said the person was over 100 years old and associated with a long-term care facility.
Since the pandemic began in March, the county’s health department has reported a total of 1,454 deaths related to Covid-19. The state’s health department estimates the Allegheny County death rate at 1,521, a discrepancy attributed to different reporting methods.
Despite different reporting methods, both the state and provincial figures reflect a lower covid-related death rate in January compared to December. According to the province, 556 people died in December. Through January 21 – the most recent data available from the province – 109 died in January. The state reports that 608 Allegheny County residents died in December, while 314 died in January (with numbers up to Saturday).
Hospital admissions have also decreased significantly in the first month of 2021.
The month started with 697 county residents hospitalized with covid, and ended with 311 – a 55% drop. Among patients in intensive care units, the number went from 238 to 89, and among patients on a ventilator it went from 87 to 35.
Currently, according to the Open Data PA website, 313 Allegheny County residents have been hospitalized with covid-19, 75 of whom are in the ICU and 32 on a ventilator.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 69,537 cases of covid-19 in Allegheny County, of which 55,192 have been confirmed by PCR testing. 337,918 residents have been tested negative for the virus.
Chris Pastrick is a digital producer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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