Allegheny County's Daily New COVID-19 Case Count Dips, And PA To Lift Most Restrictions On Memorial Day

Pittsburgh PA

10 May, 2021

7:42 AM

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By PublicSource reporters, Public Source 2021-05-06 The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday confirmed 177 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths. The new cases include individuals ranging in age from seven months to 95 years old, with a median age of 29. The new cases include individuals ranging in age from seven months to 95 years old, with a median age of 29. One of the two people who died in the past 24 hours was in their 50s and the other person was in their 80s. To date, Allegheny County Health Department has reported 98,532 cases, 1,890 deaths from the virus and 6,850 past and present hospitalizations. The transmission of COVID-19 in Allegheny County has slightly decreased in the last week, but, ahead of the lifting of the state's mitigation orders at the end of the month, Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said it needs to decrease faster. And the best way to fight the transmission of the virus, she said at a Wednesday press briefing, is to vaccinate more and more residents. While 94% of county residents age 65 and older are at least partially vaccinated, the percentage declines for younger age groups, with just 49% of those 20-35 getting one or more shots. "These vaccination rates are encouraging, especially that our most vulnerable group, those 65 and older, are vaccinated at such a high rate," Bogen said. "But the work is not done, and I believe we can and must do better." Bogen described the last week's daily case counts as mixed, from as low as today's case count of 158, to as high as 366. The average dropped slightly from the previous week to 240 a day. Tests also came back positive slightly less frequently compared to the previous week. Deaths from the virus continue, with 75 people dying in April, 12 of whom were adults younger than 60. Bogen spent much of her remarks Wednesday dispelling myths about the vaccines. They do not cause infertility, she said, nor use meat products, nor contain microchips for tracking. She said the vaccines have proved effective against variants of COVID-19. "The vaccine, if enough of us get it, will allow us all to return to normalcy," Bogen said. "To hugging our loved ones, to dinner parties with friends, to dining at restaurants without fear, to once again enjoying large outdoor gatherings to celebrate the Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, and, who knows, maybe another Stanley Cup Champion parade." The briefing itself displayed one way the vaccine allows residents to return to normal. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald began the press briefing by removing his mask. The sign language interpreter followed suit. For the first time during the pandemic, all seven people in the briefing room were unmasked. "Every one of us has been vaccinated for more than two weeks," Fitzgerald said. "And that's what the vaccine is doing for us." The Allegheny County Health Department confirmed 158 new COVID-19 cases and nine new deaths from the virus Wednesday. The cases came from individuals five months to 96 years old, with a median age of 29. The deaths, from Apr. 21 to May 1, affected one person in their 40s, one in their 50s, four in their 60s, one in their 70s, one in their 80s and one in their 90s. Throughout the pandemic, ACHD has confirmed 98,355 cases, 1,888 deaths from the virus and 6,842 past and present hospitalizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed Thursday 2,476 new COVID-19 cases and 57 new deaths in the past 24 hours. Since the start of the pandemic, Pennsylvania has reported 1,166,692 cases and 26,447 deaths. Nursing and personal care home residents and employees represent about 7.4% of the state's cases and approximately half of the state's deaths. Healthcare workers represent about 2.4% of the state's cases. Through May 6, at least 8,939,043 vaccine doses have been administered. Across the state, 5,535,387 people have received one dose of the vaccine and 3,403,656 people have received both doses of the vaccine. Pennsylvanians will not be required to wear a mask once the 70% of the population is vaccinated, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday. As of May 4, more than 3 million residents are fully vaccinated, which would represent around a third of the state's adult residents. More than 5.4 million have received at least one dose. In a press release Tuesday the state is lifting all other COVID-19 mitigation measures on Memorial Day. But the release states that people will currently be required to wear masks indoors when they are away from home. In an effort to increase vaccination, the county has released a map of vaccination sites. Older adults who have not been able to secure a vaccine appointment are encouraged to reach out to their local Area Agency on Aging for assistance with scheduling an appointment. Local Area Agencies on Aging may also be able to help with arranging free transportation to vaccinations sites for qualifying seniors. For more information or help with scheduling an appointment through Allegheny County's Area Agency on Aging, residents can call 412-350-4234. The state's CATE mobile unit is part of a partnership with Latino Connection and is hosting a total of 120 vaccination events across the state in the upcoming months. They are also holding 100 educational events in corner stores, bodegas and other key locations within communities to help sign up individuals who do not have access to the internet or are in need of assistance to sign up for a vaccination event. Those who want a vaccine can visit www.catemobileunit.com to pre-register for an upcoming vaccination event. This article was reported by Matt Petras, Punya Bhasin and Danielle Cruz. This article was produced by PublicSource.org, a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. PublicSource tells stories for a better Pittsburgh. Sign up for their free email newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.