Pennsylvania reported nearly 1,000 new virus cases and another 24 new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, bringing the state’s total to more than 122,000 Pennsylvanians infected and more than 7,400 dead.
Almost one-third of the new cases are from Philadelphia and Allegheny County, which is home to Pittsburgh.
After a July spike, the percentage of virus tests coming back positive over seven days in Pennsylvania has dropped from 6% in late July to 5% now, according to the COVID Tracking Project. It hit a low of 3.3% in June.
The state saw a seven-day average of about 800 new cases per day, down from almost 975 per day over seven days in late July.
The number of deaths has risen in August, at about 18 per day over the past week. That’s after a four-month downward trend that sank to weekly averages of around 12 in late July and early August, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Pennsylvania’s death count is the eighth-highest in the country overall and the 14th highest per capita at about 57 deaths per 100,000 people, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is dropping in August and about 77% of people infected in Pennsylvania have recovered, according to the state Department of Health.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
