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STATE COLLEGE -- The numbers are on the rise once again in central Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College announced that it is treating a record-high number of COVID-19 inpatients -- 66.
"The number of COVID hospitalizations at Mount Nittany Medical Center has reached a new high of 66 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 today," Mount Nittany Chief Medical Officer, Nirmal Joshi, MD, FACP, said in a release. "We urge everyone to be responsible and do what they can to stay safe until the vaccine is more widely available."
There was some good news to report Tuesday. The hospital announced that it has received more than 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Those vaccines will be distributed to additional staff as well as community health care workers not directly affiliated with Mount Nittany, a news release said.
Dr. Joshi, who heads Mount Nittany Health's COVID-19 vaccine task force, is overseeing the vaccination process.
"We are still in a phase where supply is extremely limited, and we can only offer vaccinations to healthcare workers," Joshi said in the release. "We are pleased to be able to take this additional step in vaccinating another tier of frontline workers with the vaccine."
The numbers are back up in Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 8,545 new cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. That brings the statewide total to 622,349 cases of the deadly virus. That number marks the highest daily increase over the past five days.
Clinton County saw 28 new cases on Tuesday. Its total now stands at 8,834. Centre County, meanwhile, added 63 cases of the deadly virus. Its total now stands at 8,834.
Statewide, a total of 5,995 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, including 1,174 in ICU and 715 on ventilators, as of Tuesday.
Additionally, there were 267 new deaths reported in the Commonwealth. A total of 15,086 Pennsylvanians have died from COVID-19.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health lists 22 deaths from COVID-19 in Clinton County. The DOH now lists 135 deaths attributed to the virus among Centre County residents. That number is an increase of three since Monday. Coroner Scott Sayers has confirmed 100 COVID-19 deaths in Centre County, ranging in age from 55 to 104.
As far as negative tests are concerned, Clinton County has seen 7,730 of its residents test negative. Centre County has seen 52,244 of its residents test negative. Across Pennsylvania, there were 6,012 new negatives for a total of 3,244,103.
Joshi urged everyone to remain vigilant as Pennsylvania continues to battle the virus.
"In the meantime, we urge the public to follow the recommendations we and other public health authorities have been making: wear a mask, wash your hands frequently and avoid gatherings outside your immediate household," Joshi said in the release.
Lycoming County added 123 cases of the deadly virus. Its total now stands at 5,797. In other nearby counties, the numbers look like this: Cambria (8,627), Blair (7,766), Clearfield (3,874), Union (2,816), Potter (565) and Cameron (139).
For more information about COVID-19 or to take a closer look at the numbers, visit health.pa.gov.