New COVID-19 deaths reported in Washington, Fayette counties
Three new COVID-19 deaths were reported Tuesday in Washington County, and another two occurred in nearby Fayette County as new cases of the virus continued to surge.
There were 172 new cases of the virus reported in Fayette County, one of the highest increases there since the pandemic was first discovered in Pennsylvania in March.
“Our frontline health care professionals are overwhelmed, and the medical system is in danger of cracking,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday while joining religious leaders to help keep Pennsylvanians safe during the holiday season.
Washington County added 131 new cases of the virus while another 15 were reported in Greene County, taking their cumulative totals to 5,677 and 934, respectively. Allegheny County reported 693 new cases and six additional deaths from the virus.
The state Health Department said there were 5,421 Pennsylvanians hospitalized with the virus, a number that has increase by 4,200 within the past two weeks. More than 1,000 of the patients were in intensive care units.
The state will open a free temporary drive-thru and walk-in COVID-19 testing clinic Thursday at the Greene County Airport, 417 E. Roy E. Furman Highway. Those seeking a test should bring a medical card or photo identification card. The clinic will close Monday.
“Over the past several weeks, we have seen a rapid increase of positive case counts reaching record-high levels, which gives us significant cause for concern,” state Health Secretary Rachel Levine said. “In fact, every county now has a positivity rate greater than 5%, which is alarming. In addition, nine counties have percent positivity above 20%.”
The virus has killed 11,542 residents of the state after 169 new deaths were reported Tuesday.