Statewide Positivity Rate Spikes To 14 Percent In PA

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania's coronavirus test positivity rate spike to 14.4 percent over the past seven days, officials said Monday. That's up from 11.7 percent the week before.

According to state data, every county in the state has a "concerning" percent positivity rate — above five percent. There are nine counties (Mifflin, Potter, Bedford, Montour, Juniata, Somerset, Tioga, Franklin, and Lawrence) with percent positivity rates at or above 20 percent.

The accelerating percent positivity is just one of many concerning data points shared Monday by state officials. The data, which represents cases between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28, shows there were 46,653 COVID-19 cases statewide, an increase of 2,128 cases compared to the previous seven-day period.

Pennsylvania experienced a seven-day case increase of 48,668, with 66 of 67 counties categories as having "substantial transmission status."

“The latest update continues to show the effect COVID-19 is having in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Wolf said. “The mitigation steps in place are necessary to prevent our health system from being overrun. We are approaching that point, which is why we need all Pennsylvanians to follow these measures as part of their collective responsibility to protect one another and the health system.”

The state reported a two-day new case total of 14,960 over the weekend. There are currently 5,300 people hospitalized in Pennsylvania with COVID-19. Of that number, 1,107 patients are in the intensive care unit. There were 69 new COVID-19 deaths reported Saturday and 42 reported Sunday, bringing the state's total to 11,373 deaths.

Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel Levine have planned a news conference for 2 p.m. Monday.

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