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WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 27 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and one new death.
That brings Luzerne County’s total cases to 3,553; the death count is now at 185.
Neighboring Lackawanna County has 1,952 cases and 212 deaths; Monroe County has 1,655 cases and 124 deaths.
The Department of Health confirmed that there are 991 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 122,121. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.
Allegheny is reporting an increase of 114 cases and Philadelphia is reporting an increase of 192 cases.
The number of tests administered within the last 7 days between Aug. 6 and Aug. 12 is 162,548 with 5,416 positive cases. There were 25,714 test results reported to the department through 10 p.m., August 12. These results represent the total number of tests administered.
There are 7,409 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 24 new deaths reported.
Mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home. Consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
There are 644 patients who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure, which are considered probable cases and not confirmed cases.
There are 1,271,976 patients who have tested negative to date.
Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
The department is seeing significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19 to 24-year-olds. An alert was sent to healthcare providers about the changing COVID-19 case demographics, as there are more cases in younger age groups than in those 50-64 and 65-plus.
In nursing and personal care homes, there are 20,244 resident cases of COVID-19, and 4,192 cases among employees, for a total of 24,436 at 888 distinct facilities in 61 counties.
Out of our total deaths, 5,037 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
Approximately 8,790 of our total cases are among health care workers.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.