Dec 12, 2020 2 min read

Four new COVID-19 deaths were reported Friday in Fayette County, and another three were announced in Washington County as new cases of the virus continued to set records in Pennsylvania.

Fayette added 342 new cases, the highest single-day increase there, taking its total to 3,884 since March. Washington broke its record with 294 new cases, bringing its cumulative total to 6,224. Meanwhile, Greene County’s case count increased by 55 to 1,030, state Health Department records show.

Allegheny County set a new record with 1,322 new cases. The county announced 33 new deaths, including a person in their 30s, the county’s health department said.

The new surge in cases came a day after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered indoor dining to halt for three weeks, beginning Saturday, and took other measures to slow the spread of the virus.

Officials at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette announced Friday that a 77-year-old inmate at the prison died from the virus earlier in the week.

The inmate had underlying medical conditions and died at a local hospital, prison officials said.

The man, whose name was not released, was serving a sentence of 23½ to 47 years for forgery. There are three active cases of the virus at the Luzerne Township prison and 26 active staff cases, the state Department of Corrections noted.

“We are experiencing the same thing that our counties are experiencing, and we are following very strict procedures to mitigate the virus’ impact on our state prisons,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said. “I’ve directed our staff to act aggressively and quickly when inmates report influenza-like illnesses, and that includes isolating and quarantining inmates, locking down units or entire prisons as needed, conducting regular cleanings and even 72-hour deep cleanings in order to protect staff and inmates.”

The virus has killed 12,235 Pennsylvanians after 225 new deaths were reported Friday.

The state also announced 12,745 new statewide virus cases, taking the total above 470,000.