Pennsylvania shatters single-day record for new COVID-19 cases
Allegheny County issued a stay-at-home and stop social gatherings advisory Wednesday as new COVID-19 cases broke records there as well as across Pennsylvania.
County health director Debra Bogen urged residents to cancel travel plans as Thanksgiving weekend approaches to avoid her issuing another order to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus.
“I wish I was here with better news,” Bogen said during her weekly update on the virus.
The state Department of Health announced 6,339 new statewide virus cases Wednesday, a number that was 439 higher than the previous record set Tuesday as the virus continued to spread across the United States.
Meanwhile, Allegheny County reported 620 new virus cases, and two new deaths. Washington County experienced three new COVID-19 deaths, taking the total number of victims to 53, the state said.
Washington County also had 71 people hospitalized because of the virus, and eight of them were on ventilators, with both numbers being at their highest since mid-October, county records showed.
Bogen said some of the virus cases are blamed on the “willful disregard” of state-mandated limits on crowd sizes and masking.
She pointed to a large dance held last week by parents in the Plum School District, an event in Westmoreland County that has led to confirmed cases of the virus. The organizers of the event also have not shared the names of the people who were there with contact tracers, Bogen said.
“It’s extremely difficult. It makes me quite angry,” Bogen said.
She said some businesses in Allegheny County have closed because their employees are sick or in quarantine.
Meanwhile, Washington County reported 117 new cases for the second day in a row, taking its total to 3,340 since March. There were two new virus deaths in Fayette County and 74 new cases. Greene County added 34 cases to its total that climbed to 507.
The ongoing surge in cases prompted state Health Secretary Rachel Levine to amend her mitigation order Tuesday to require the wearing of face masks indoors and around those who are not in a person’s immediate household.