Pennsylvania's COVID Positivity Rate Climbs To 16 Percent

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania's statewide coronavirus percent positivity rate is up to 16.2 percent, officials said Monday. Two counties — Bedford and Crawford — have levels above 30 percent.

The statewide positivity rate is up nearly two percentage points from last week's level of 14.4 percent.

Every county in the state has a "concerning" positivity rate above five percent, according to information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In addition to the two counties with levels above 30 percent, 15 counties have a positivity rate above 20 percent.

“This week’s data coupled by the continued strain COVID-19 is placing on the rate of hospitalizations and ventilator use serve as a reminder to us all of our role in protecting our health care system,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Models continue to indicate very concerning trends for our hospital availability and ICU bed availability, even as we see some counties with very little capacity left. We know COVID-19 does not discriminate and is affecting every county in the commonwealth."

According to the latest data, all 67 counties are experiencing a "substantial" level of community transmission.

Meanwhile, the state is closing in on a half-million cases after 18,646 additional COVID-19 infections were reported over the weekend. There have now been 499,764 infections in Pennsylvania, including 12,565 deaths.