Beaver County's COVID cases fall 32.6%; Pennsylvania cases plummet 41.2%

Mike Stucka
·4 min read

Pennsylvania reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 113,778 new cases. That's down 41.2% from the previous week's tally of 193,490 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Pennsylvania ranked 47th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 14.9% from the week before, with 4,770,122 cases reported. With 3.85% of the country's population, Pennsylvania had 2.39% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 27 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the current and previous weeks' statistics. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Peyton Roth gets her COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccine clinic for students, aged 5-11, on the Alabama State University campus in Montgomery on Jan. 21. The clinic was run as a partnership between Alabama State University, Montgomery Public Schools and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Peyton Roth gets her COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccine clinic for students, aged 5-11, on the Alabama State University campus in Montgomery on Jan. 21. The clinic was run as a partnership between Alabama State University, Montgomery Public Schools and the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Beaver County reported 1,685 cases and 10 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 2,499 cases and 19 deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 36,006 cases and 653 deaths.

Allegheny County reported 11,898 cases and 62 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 22,666 cases and 56 deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 240,260 cases and 2,904 deaths.

Across Pennsylvania, cases fell in 60 counties, with the best declines in Allegheny County, with 11,898 cases from 22,666 a week earlier; in Philadelphia County, with 12,548 cases from 21,255; and in Lehigh County, with 2,826 cases from 8,529.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Pennsylvania ranked 14th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 81.4% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 75.5%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Sunday, Pennsylvania reported administering another 458,977 vaccine doses, including 131,723 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 289,060 vaccine doses, including 104,672 first doses. In all, Pennsylvania reported it has administered 21,342,255 total doses.

Within Pennsylvania, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Huntingdon County with 1,564 cases per 100,000 per week; Somerset County with 1,491; and Union County with 1,367. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Philadelphia County, with 12,548 cases; Allegheny County, with 11,898 cases; and Montgomery County, with 6,008. Weekly case counts rose in seven counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Huntingdon, Greene and Somerset counties.

In Pennsylvania, 919 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 954 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,572,500 people in Pennsylvania have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 39,538 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States, 70,700,678 people have tested positive and 866,540 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Pennsylvania's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 23.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 8,110

  • The week before that: 9,401

  • Four weeks ago: 6,407

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 188,864

  • The week before that: 197,883

  • Four weeks ago: 99,261

Hospitals in 25 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver County COVID cases increased by 1,685 this week