Patient at Jefferson Hospital 1st fatal covid-19 case in Allegheny County - TribLIVE

Allegheny County recorded its first coronavirus death on Saturday, the second death in the state since Pennsylvania saw its first case two weeks ago.

The person was in their late 60s and being treated at Jefferson Hospital, officials said.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said the family of the deceased asked that officials provide no further information.

The death came as the number of positive cases statewide jumped nearly 40% from 268 to 371 in one day. In Allegheny County, health officials reported three new cases, bringing the county total to 31, four of which are hospitalized.

“Does that mean we’re heading in the right direction? I don’t know that we can even say that,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s only one day, and it’s a very small sample that we have. We may see some higher results in the days to come.”

Dr. Debra Bogen, incoming county health director, said residents shouldn’t feel that social distancing efforts aren’t working because of the increase in positive cases, as there is a lag of five to 10 days.

“This number will certainly increase in the coming days, in part because we’re now increasing testing but also because we have community spread in our region,” she said.

A media briefing will be held later this afternoon with details forthcoming.

Additionally, there are 31 positive cases of COVID-19 in Allegheny County. Of those cases, five are hospitalized. Additional results are expected to be received throughout the day.

— Allegheny County Health Department (@HealthAllegheny) March 21, 2020

Bogen and Fitzgerald both urged UPMC to begin to “wind down” elective surgeries and hospital admissions “as much as possible.”

Both state and county officials have asked hospitals to halt elective procedures as another avenue to staunch the spread of covid-19.

UPMC officials have said that while there is community spread, there is not widespread community transmission, which Dr. John Williams, chief of pediatric infectious diseases, defined as “many people (being) infected with the virus in a community, often in different areas.

Matt Brown, chief of county emergency services, said medical facilities, ambulance crews and others involved in mitigating the impact of the virus are in constant communication.

“This crisis is very challenging, but we are operating within our lanes as we do for every disaster,” Brown said.

He said preparations for the virus began weeks ago, and that included coordinating on the needs of EMS and other medical facilities, “confirming that they were all in good shape and had no … unmet needs.”

That includes personal protective equipment like N95 breathing masks. He said the county is still able to procure those materials, and they are able to go to the state or federal government if need be.

“That is really what we monitor day to day, hour to hour,” Brown said.

Fitzgerald said the county has set up an email address for companies, organizations or individuals who can donate personal protective equipment.

“(This) is strictly to try to help make sure that our first responders, our medical professionals and others who are on the front line have some of the protective equipment they need,” he said.

Elsewhere in the region, positive cases continued to grow.

Butler County had its first reported case Saturday. Westmoreland County’s count remained unchanged at four, while Washington County had two new cases, bringing the total to five.

The state’s first coronavirus death was reported Wednesday. The victim, Carmine Fusco, was a resident of Bath, Northampton County.

He was one of four members of a New Jersey family who died from covid-19, The New York Times reported. Others who died included his 73-year-old mother and two siblings. Seven family members in total have been sickened by the coronavirus, the paper reported.

Staff writer Tony LaRussa contributed to this report. Jacob Tierney and Megan Guza are Tribune-Review staff writers.

Categories: Coronavirus | Local | Allegheny