Philly Sees Highest Single-Day Coronavirus Death, Case Count

PHILADELPHIA — During the daily coronavirus update Thursday, officials reported the highest single-day death count and nearly double the amount of new cases reported Wednesday.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said Thursday's numbers show 604 new cases and 42 new deaths.

Both figures are the highest reported to date.

Farley said, however, the high numbers are likely due to more labs providing test results. Farley said twice as many labs reported numbers Thursday as Wednesday.

"The data comes in batches which makes it hard to follow trends," Farley said.

Graphs provided by the city show a possible plateau in cases over last week.

"I can't say we will see decreases yet," Farley said of case counts. "We are not past the worst, we still far to go in the epidemic. I'm hopeful we will turn a corner soon."

Overall, there are now 8,045 cases and 264 deaths in the city.

Of the 264 deaths, 137 — or 52 percent — were nursing home residents. Additionally, 145 deaths were people older than 75 years old and 105 were people 55 to 75 years old.

In the Southeast Pennsylvania region, 33 percent of regular hospital beds are available and 29 percent of ICU beds are available.

However, Farley said some hospitals in the region are at or near capacity, especially for ICU beds.

Farley and Mayor Jim Kenney said the Liacouras Center on Temple's campus is ready to take on patients if needed. City, Temple University, the Medical Reserve Corps, and other institutions are staffing the site.

The City is hosting members of the National Guard to help advise on best practices for establishing field hospitals.