Lycoming County five new COVID-19 cases
HARRISBURG-The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., August 2, that there are 888 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 112,936.
Lycoming County has had 337 positive cases to date (310 confirmed and 27 probable), Clinton 115 (101 confirmed and 14 probable) cases, Sullivan ten cases (five confirmed and five probable) and Tioga 35 cases (29 confirmed and six probable).
There are 7,209 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 5 new deaths reported.
“As the state has put in place new mitigation efforts to offset recent case increases, we must renew our commitment to protecting against COVID-19 by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing and following the requirements set forth in the orders for bars and restaurants, gatherings and telework,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Pennsylvania has been a model for the country on how to reopen effectively using a careful, measured approach. However, the we know the virus has not gone away as we see cases rise, we must work together to stop another surge.”
Mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home. Consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
According to the state, positive antibody tests are include in the probable cases, and make up about 1/4 of all probable cases. Positive antibody cases also make up .71% of all cases.Probable cases are not confirmed cases.
The state DOH said in an email that a person being retested does not count as a new case, “If someone tests positive, and then has later positive tests, they are only counted as that one positive case.”
Negative case data only includes negative PCR tests. Negative case data does not include negative antibody tests.
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+. The following regions have seen significant increases among 19 to 24-year-olds in each month from April to present in July:
SE – Nearly 5 percent of cases in April to approximately 19 percent of cases so far in July;
SW – Approximately 5 percent of cases in April to approximately 18 percent of cases so far in July;
NE – 6 percent of cases in April to nearly 17 percent of cases so far in July;
NC – Nearly 8 percent of cases in April to nearly 15 percent of cases so far in July;
SC – Approximately 7 percent of cases in April to approximately 14 percent of cases so far in July; and
NW – Nearly 7 percent of cases in April to approximately nearly 14 percent of cases so far in July.
The department of health reports the statewide recovery rate today as 76 percent. Individuals who have recovered is determined using a calculation, similar to what is being done by several other states. If a case has not been reported as a death, and it is more than 30 days past the date of their first positive test (or onset of symptoms) then an individual is considered recovered.