Lawrence County's COVID cases up 31.6%; Pennsylvania cases surge 28.2%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
Doug Levine of Williamsport, Maryland, receives his second booster shot, which is also the 100,000th vaccine administered at the Meritus COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Robinwood Professional Center near Hagerstown.
Doug Levine of Williamsport, Maryland, receives his second booster shot, which is also the 100,000th vaccine administered at the Meritus COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Robinwood Professional Center near Hagerstown.

New coronavirus cases leaped in Pennsylvania in the week ending Sunday, rising 28.2% as 27,317 cases were reported. The previous week had 21,316 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Pennsylvania ranked 23rd 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 increased 31.8% from the week before, with 796,108 cases reported. With 3.85% of the country's population, Pennsylvania had 3.43% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 42 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Lawrence County reported 104 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 79 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 19,213 cases and 418 deaths.

Beaver County reported 218 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 219 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 40,962 cases and 747 deaths.

Within Pennsylvania, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Bradford County with 501 cases per 100,000 per week; Lackawanna County with 351; and Wyoming County with 321. 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 Allegheny County, with 3,521 cases; Philadelphia County, with 2,559 cases; and Montgomery County, with 2,337. Weekly case counts rose in 61 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Allegheny, Montgomery and Delaware counties.

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

Pennsylvania ranked 13th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 84.9% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, 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 Wednesday, Pennsylvania reported administering another 126,842 vaccine doses, including 22,201 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 319,300 vaccine doses, including 22,696 first doses. In all, Pennsylvania reported it has administered 23,045,182 total doses.

Across Pennsylvania, cases fell in six counties, with the best declines in Indiana County, with 117 cases from 127 a week earlier; in Forest County, with 5 cases from 10; and in Juniata County, with 14 cases from 16.

In Pennsylvania, 84 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 81 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,877,660 people in Pennsylvania have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 44,898 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive and 1,002,173 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Pennsylvania's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 22.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,102

  • The week before that: 3,822

  • Four weeks ago: 3,058

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 53,333

  • The week before that: 49,215

  • Four weeks ago: 39,443

Hospitals in 31 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 37 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 Ellwood City Ledger: Lawrence County reported 104 additional COVID-19 cases this week