Three new COVID-19 deaths reported in Washington County – Observer-Reporter

The state Department of Health reported three more COVID-19 deaths in Washington County Wednesday, raising the total number of people who have died from coronavirus to 572.

Record-high case counts, fueled by the omicron variant, are starting to come down, according to Keara Klinepeter, Pennsylvanias acting secretary of health.

Although we are seeing a slight decrease in the seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases, it is much too early to let down our guard, Klinepeter said in a statement Tuesday. What we have seen during previous surges is that hospitalizations remain high for a couple of weeks after case counts start to decline. That means that our frontline healthcare workers need our continued support and a commitment to get vaccinated, get boosted, wear masks in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status and get tested when appropriate.

On Wednesday, there were 242 additional COVID cases reported in the county, bringing the total number of cases to 47,006.

Greene County recorded 38 new cases, and has now has seen a total of 7,632 COVID cases. There was one more COVID death reported, raising the total to 92.

In Fayette County, a total of 27,924 COVID cases have been recorded. The county added 118 new cases. An additional COVID death raises the death toll to 575.

Statewide, as of Jan. 24, the daily average number of cases was 15,294, the DOH reported in its weekly briefing.

In Pennsylvania, the number of COVID-19 deaths is 39,932, with the total number of cases reaching 2,605,439.

The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 Monday was 12.8% lower than Jan. 17.

The percent of available adult and pediatric ICU beds in the state rose to 16.1% and 14.2%, respectively.

Approximately 27.8% of all staffed adult ICU beds are COVID-19 patients, and 31.3% of all ventilators statewide are in use, according to the DOH.

Additionally, the DOH noted the first state-directed healthcare strike team is now deployed and more are on the way to help with the healthcare staffing shortage amid the pandemic.

Despite the slight decrease in cases, staffing resources are in high-demand from Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems, whose frontline healthcare workers are exhausted and in need of support while they continue to see record numbers, Klinepeter said.

Meanwhile, the DOH is advising residents to avoid seeking COVID-19 tests at hospitals, and instead use a COVID testing site.

According to the CDC, as of Monday, 75.3% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated.

There was a 38.5% increase in vaccines administered from the previous week, the DOH reported.

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Three new COVID-19 deaths reported in Washington County - Observer-Reporter