Trending
BELLEFONTE -- Numbers are still on the rise in Centre County.
On Saturday, Centre County added 97 new cases of COVID-19. The county now has 1,727 cases. In the past two weeks alone, Centre County has added 1,075 new cases of the deadly virus. The majority of the positive cases are connected to the State College and University Park zip codes and Penn State University.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health's early warning monitoring dashboard was updated. For the second consecutive week, Centre County had the highest incidence rate in the Commonwealth over the prior seven days at 322.5 per 100,000 people. The next closest was York County at 85.2. Centre County also had the highest positivity rate for Sept. 11-17 at 12.1 percent.
In Clinton County, just one case of COVID-19 was added to the tally. It now has 186 total cases.
As far as negative testing is concerned, Centre County had 291 new negative test results. A total of 22,520 Centre County patients have tested negative for the virus.
In Clinton County, there were 28 new negative test results. A total of 3,932 Clinton County residents have tested negative, according to the DOH dashboard.
According to DOH data, Centre County has one COVID-19 hospitalization. Clinton County has zero hospitalizations. Throughout the state, 470 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. A total of 47 of those hospitalized are using a ventilator. According to DOH calculations, an estimated 82 percent of COVID-19 patients (122,873) have recovered.
The DOH reported 22 new COVID-19 deaths on Saturday. A total of 7,956 Pennsylvanians have died as a result of the virus. A total of 11 Centre County residents have died; five Clinton County residents have died.
Across the Commonwealth, a total of 1,162 new positives were reported by the DOH. That increases Pennsylvania's total to 149,845. The DOH also reports that there were 13,475 new negative test results statewide. A total of 1,746,280 patients in Pennsylvania have tested negative for the virus.
The DOH announced on Friday that a pop-up clinic for COVID-19 testing will open at the Nittany Mall beginning on Sept. 25. The clinic will be held on Sept. 25-26 and Sept. 29-Oct. 3. Testing will be free of charge as the DOH works with county and municipal officials on recommendations for localized mitigation efforts.
Penn State University has no intentions of changing to remote learning, according to president Eric Barron. Penn State has reported 973 student positives resulting from tests completed over the past two weeks. Students began to return to University Park in mid- to late August.
As far as school districts in Centre County are concerned, the State College Area School District is the lone district to employ fully remote learning. Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola are still using face-to-face instruction. However, Wingate Elementary, which is part of the Bald Eagle Area School District, is closed until Thursday, Oct. 1 after a staff member and student in the school tested positive. No cases have been reported in Clinton County schools.
In nearby counties, the numbers look like this: Lycoming County (623), Union (451), Clearfield (297), Potter (25) and Cameron (8).
The DOH no longer provides Sunday COVID-19 updates. Numbers will be updated today.