Allegheny County posts lower new covid case count for 4th straight day - TribLIVE

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For the fourth straight day, the Allegheny County Health Department posted a lower new covid-19 case count.

The county added 71 new cases on Monday, making it the third consecutive day the number was in the 70s. The results come from 944 tests administered from Aug. 11-16. All of the positive cases have been confirmed.

New cases range in age from 1 month to 97 years, with a median age of 47 years.

In the first 17 days of August, the county has added 1,410 covid-19 cases, as compared to 3,230 added in the first 17 days of July — just over 56% fewer new cases.

Of the new cases, 34 were male, 37 female. The majority of new cases (25) were residents age 65 and older, followed by ages 50-64 (18 cases), and ages 25-49 (13).

Two new deaths were added to Allegheny County’s list of the 290 people who have died from covid-19 related illness. The newly reported deaths are a person in their 80s and one in their 90s, with dates of death of Aug. 6 and 7.

The county continues to update its hospitalization information, adding 72 cases. However, officials said many of the “new” cases go back as far as late June.

According to the state’s covid-19 tracking website, there are currently 101 Allegheny County residents in the hospital for the virus, with 23 of them on ventilators. In all, 870 people have been hospitalized for covid-19.

There have been 136,464 people tested for covid-19 in Allegheny County, with 6.96% testing positive.

The county’s website says there have been outcomes in 6,693 cases — where 6,403 are assumed to be recovered and 290 have died. That makes the recovery rate 95.7% in cases with an outcome. Out of the county’s total of 9,504 covid-19 cases, there remain 2,811 cases without an assumed outcome.

The website counts individuals as recovered based on one of two conditions: It’s been 32 days since the person was hospitalized for covid-19 and not deceased; or, if they were not hospitalized, 14 days since they tested positive.

Officials report two more inmates at the Allegheny County Jail have tested positive for covid-19 since last week, for a total of 37 to date. Three covid-19-positive inmates remain in the facility, with 34 having either recovered or been released. A total of 382 inmates have been tested, with 341 testing negative.

Among jail workers, 103 have been tested, with 11 positives, 90 negatives and two tests pending. Nine workers at the jail have recovered.

As always, state and county health officials urge residents to wear masks, wash their hands and maintain physical distance from others to keep the community safe.

Chris Pastrick is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, cpastrick@triblive.com or via Twitter .