Pa. Health Dept.: 37 New Confirmed Cases Of Coronavirus, Statewide Total Now Tops 130
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 37 new positive cases of Coronavirus on Wednesday afternoon.
That means the statewide number of cases now tops 100. The total being 133.
According to the state Health Department, all patients are either quarantined at home or being treated in a hospital.
#COVID19 Update:
Today (3/18/20 at 12:00 am), there are 37 additional positive cases of COVID-19 in PA, bringing the statewide total to 133.All are either in isolation at home or being treated at the hospital.
Latest info: https://t.co/7pzosEXhEX
— PA Department of Health (@PAHealthDept) March 18, 2020
State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a news release: "Pennsylvanians have a very important job right now: stay calm; stay home and stay safe. We have seen case counts continue to increase and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is stay home."
Locally, in Allegheny County, there is one new confirmed case this Wednesday and one other presumptive case.
Mercyhurst University says there was a positive COVID-19 diagnosis of an Erie campus student. For that reason, students aren't allowed to come back to campus and collect their belongings.
However, the state health department has not reported a positive case in Erie, but the state health department is only updating the number of cases once a day at noon.
Here are the numbers from other Pennsylvania counties:
- Beaver 2
- Berks 1
- Bucks 9
- Chester 9
- Cumberland 10
- Delaware 14
- Lackawanna 1
- Lehigh 1
- Luzerne 1
- Monroe 7
- Montgomery 42
- Northampton 1
- Philadelphia 17
- Pike 2
- Washington 2
- Wayne 1
- York 2
State health officials say 1,187 patients have tested negative for the virus.
At a press conference, Dr. Levine says health officials can assume there are people whose infection can't be traced back to a source, implying community spread. At this time, there is no "sustained community spread" in Pa., as defined by the CDC.
However, Dr. Levine says they do expect community spread at some point, reiterating that it's important to stay home and practice social distancing.
More information on the Coronavirus pandemic:
- CDC Coronavirus Information
- CDC Global Map of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
- Pennsylvania Department of Health Information
- Allegheny County Health Department Information
Stay with KDKA for the latest on the developing story.
