COVID-19 daily deaths more than triple in 24 hours in Pennsylvania
The number of daily COVID-19 deaths more than tripled in 24 hours across Pennsylvania, the state health department said Tuesday.
The state reported 60 news deaths, taking the statewide total to 584 as the number of positive cases also continued to climb.
“COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Pennsylvania, and even though the daily increases are not exponential, now is not the time to become complacent, health Secretary Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to stay home to protect ourselves, our families, our community.”
Levine said she is confident the state has “flattened the curve” in the number of new daily cases, that early expectations had Pennsylvania showing more than 60,000 positive cases by now.
Pennsylvania has recorded 25,345 positive cases of the virus since March 6, with 1,146 new ones added to the total Tuesday.
There has been a trend in the state for the numbers to spike on Tuesday because of a lag time in reporting from some counties over the weekend, Levine has said.
Washington County, where one resident died Friday from COVID-19, added one new positive case, taking its total to 70. Greene County remained at 23 cases of the virus. The number of deaths in Westmoreland County doubled to six, and it recorded three new cases, taking its total to 231.
Allegheny County reported 17 new cases, with a total Tuesday of 893. The death toll in Allegheny increased by three to a total of 24.
Levine said there have been many questions about the release of more data regarding the locations of positive cases and how many of them are minorities.
She said the state was in the process of updating its online data reporting system when the pandemic hit, and that it’s impossible to complete that work now.
She said hospitals and laboratories have been reminded that it’s their responsibility to provide that data to the state, and that nearly 60% of some reporting information has not been filed.