Oct 29, 2020 2 min read

Pennsylvania reached a grim landmark Wednesday, as it has now recorded more than 200,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said there were 2,228 additional positive cases across the commonwealth Wednesday, which brings the overall total to 200,674. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania reported its largest one-day increase in cases, with 2,751 cases. There were also 22 additional deaths reported, bringing the total to 8,718.

One of those new deaths was in Fayette County, which now has seen 15 deaths since the start of the pandemic. It added 13 new cases, with its total now at 1,019. Washington County added 41 additional positive cases, for a total since March of 1,986. Greene County added on nine new cases, for a total of 240. Neither county reported any new deaths.

Allegheny County, on the other hand, reported four new deaths and 199 additional cases. At the county’s weekly briefing, Rich Fitzgerald, the county’s executive, acknowledged that cases are increasing in the immediate vicinity of Pittsburgh, but “they’re not going up as fast as in other places.”

The addition of at least 100 new positive cases per day has become “the new normal,” according to Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department. She said many of the new cases appear to be coming from private parties, events like weddings, workplaces, restaurants and travel.

Bogen said, however, that when voters head to the polls next Tuesday, they should be out of harm’s way if they wear a mask and practice social distancing.

“If people follow instructions, they should be safe,” she explained.

Despite many voters opting to mail in ballots this year, as many as 300,000 people could be going to the polls in Allegheny County on Tuesday, Fitzgerald said.