Local COVID-19 impact continues downward trend

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

The amount of weekly COVID-19 deaths in the area continues to drop, and Westmoreland County’s numbers are the lowest they’ve been since the fall.

In Pennsylvania, there have now been a total of 899,237 cases. There are 2,356 patients hospitalized statewide and 491 of those are in an ICU. There are 271 COVID patients using a ventilator. 

Those numbers represent a significant drop in the past five weeks. In the first several weeks of the year, the average number of patients hospitalized statewide hovered around 5,300 with more than 1,000 of them in an ICU. More than half of those ICU patients were using ventilators. 

The first week of the year saw 1,000 COVID deaths, and 122 of those were in Allegheny County.

Things look a little better these days as there has been a drop of about 3,000 patients hospitalized and 50% drops in the patients who are in ICUs and those using ventilators statewide.

In the counties that make up the Mon Valley, the numbers continue to trend downward.

In Allegheny County, there have now been 73,598 cases, an increase of 199, and 1,647 deaths, an increase of one, according to the state Department of Health.

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