Prison virus cases cause area spike

From staff reports

The state Department of Health on Thursday announced 537 new cases of COVID-19 and five new virus-related deaths were reported from the tri-county area.

According to the state, 514 of those cases were from Forest County, all confirmed, giving the county a cumulative total of 1,245 cases (1,194 confirmed and 51 probable).

However, according to latest data from the state Department of Corrections, SCI Forest as of Wednesday reported the prison had 814 active cases of COVID-19 among inmates, and a cumulative total of 867 positive cases among inmates.

According to the state, Forest County reported one additional death, giving the county 10 total deaths, including four from the prison.

In addition, the state said, Venango County reported three new virus-related deaths, giving the county 67 total deaths, and Clarion County reported one new virus-related death giving the county 66 total deaths.

Venango County, the state said, also reported eight new cases (seven confirmed and one probable) and Clarion County reported 15 new cases (nine confirmed and six probable).

Venango County, the state said, now has a cumulative total of 2,952 cases (2,422 confirmed and 530 probable).

Clarion County, the state said, now has a cumulative total of 2,386 cases (1,574 confirmed and 812 probable).

Elsewhere in the region

Mercer County, the state said, reported three additional virus-related deaths on Thursday, giving the county 206 total deaths.

The county, the state said, also reported 41 new cases (33 confirmed and eight probable), giving the county a cumulative total of 7,131 cases (5,764 confirmed and 1,367 probable).

Crawford County, the state said, reported two additional virus-related deaths, giving the county 117 total deaths.

The county, the state said, also reported 16 new confirmed cases, giving the county a cumulative total of 5,664 cases (4,597 confirmed and 1,067 probable).

Statewide statistics

-The state on Thursday reported 5,664 new statewide positive cases, 320 fewer than the number reported Wednesday, raising the cumulative total to 788,834 cases (694,492 confirmed and 94,342 probable). There are 21,862 cases among health care workers.

– Statewide, there are 4,882 individuals with COVID-19 who are hospitalized, and 889 of those patients are in intensive care units, according to the state. Most of the patients hospitalized are age 65 or older.

– Statewide, there were 260 new deaths reported Thursday, raising the total to 20,128, the state said. Most of the cumulative deaths have occurred in patients age 65 or older.

– The state continues to report a statewide recovery rate of 78%.

– The number of tests that have been negative for the virus in the tri-county area is 18,101. Statewide, there have been 3,520,836 negative test results.

Care facilities

– A nursing and personal care facilities list, a cumulative table compiled by the state that is updated daily, shows Venango County added one resident case and three employee cases. The county now has 223 resident cases, 42 employee cases and 25 deaths among nine unnamed facilities.

That same chart shows Clarion County added one resident case. The county now has 240 resident cases, 96 employee cases and 23 deaths among six unnamed facilities.

The chart also continues to show Forest County with 117 resident cases, 24 employee cases and five deaths at one unnamed facility.

– Statewide data on nursing and personal care facilities shows there are now 60,597 resident cases and 11,372 cases among employees for a total of 71,969 cases at 1,525 distinct facilities in all 67 counties.

– The state said there are a total of 10,137 deaths that have been reported from nursing and personal care facilities.

Area health systems

– UPMC Northwest on Thursday reported the hospital had collected 9,601 specimens for COVID-19 testing to date, including 1,548 tests at the hospital and 8,053 tests at the hospital’s Reno collection site. A total of 733 tests were positive for the virus.

The hospital has 15 COVID-19 in-patients.

– Statistics from the state, area health systems or officials could vary.

To view additional data and information, including Pennsylvania maps that break down the number of COVID-19 cases by county and ZIP code, go to www.health.pa.gov and click on “Coronavirus (COVID-19).”