Seven new deaths reported in Allegheny County due to COVID-19
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday that seven additional people have died in Allegheny County due to COVID-19, bringing its total over the last 11 months to 1,715.
The county has seen a drop in cases from the beginning of the cold-weather season, when there were sometimes up to 1,000 additional cases per day. On Friday, 412 new cases were reported in the county.
There was also an additional death in Fayette County, bringing its total since March to 265. Nineteen new cases were reported in the county. Its total now stands at 10,402.
No new deaths were reported in either Greene or Washington counties. Washington added 43 new cases, for a total of 13,664. Greene added nine new cases, for a total of 2,666.
The state health department also reported that 1,962 individuals are hospitalized across Pennsylvania with COVID-19, and 421 are being treated in intensive care units. Most of the patients who have been hospitalized are aged 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients who are 65 or older.
On Friday, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam announced that state residents can now use an updated version of the app COVID Alert PA to access vaccine information.
“Through this update, users can now find the number of Pennsylvanians vaccinated, the locations of our vaccine providers, and can access the Your Turn eligibility tool through this app,” Beam said. “We are continuously working to make certain that every Pennsylvanian has access to the most updated COVID-19 vaccine information in the state and are continuing to ensure the vaccine is provided in an ethical, equitable and efficient way.”
Because of the update, the app now runs on older iOS/Apple devices with iOS version 12.5 and higher.