Dec 24, 2020 2 min read

The positivity rate in COVID-19 tests administered in Pennsylvania is now 16%, which represents a slight decrease from last week.

“And that’s positive,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said at a Wednesday morning media briefing. The state is also “continuing to see a plateau in the number of new cases,” and she called it “a positive finding.”

Nevertheless, the number of cases in Pennsylvania remains high. On Wednesday, Washington County added 150 new cases and three new deaths from COVID-19. In the course of the pandemic, Washington County has had 7,974 cases and 119 deaths. Fayette County added 243 additional cases, bringing its cumulative total to 6,243. There were also nine new deaths added in Fayette County, bringing its total to 77. Greene County added 40 new cases, but had no new deaths.

Allegheny County reported 830 new cases and four new deaths. There have been 867 deaths in the county since March, and 48,738 cases.

Levine also said Wednesday that there was no evidence that a more contagious strain of COVID-19 that’s been detected in Britain has turned up in Pennsylvania, but “we’ll be monitoring it.” She also noted that there is no evidence that the strain is more virulent. Additional parts of England were locked down Wednesday in order to stop its spread.

The health secretary also said the vaccination of health care workers was going well across the state, and that every health care worker in the state who wants to be vaccinated can do so. That includes independent doctors and EMS workers.

“They will be vaccinated, whether they are affiliated with a hospital or not,” Levine explained.

She also said she hoped there would not be a spike in cases following the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

“We have to stay the course and avoid large and small gatherings,” Levine said.