COVID-19 in Pa.: Health Dept. confirms 10,049 new cases, 278 new fatalities

By: John L. Micek - December 16, 2020 12:19 pm

Despite new mitigation orders, Pennsylvania’s fall surge of COVID-19 cases continued unabated Wednesday, with 6,295 people hospitalized statewide because of the virus, the state Health Department said. Of that number, 1,264 patients were in hospital intensive care units. The hospitalizations are now double the peak they reached in the spring.

The Health Department confirmed 10,049 new cases of COVID-19 statewide, bringing the statewide total since the start of the pandemic to 519,369 cases. The agency also confirmed 278 new fatalities, for a total of 13,168 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

According to the Health Department, the 14-day moving average of hospitalized patients per-day has jumped by nearly 5,100 since the end of September. The statewide positivity rate for the week of Dec. 4 to Dec. 10 stood at 16.2 percent, the Health Department said.

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John L. Micek

A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago City Hall to Congress and the Pennsylvania Capitol. His weekly column on U.S. politics is syndicated to 800 newspapers nationwide by Cagle Syndicate. He also contributes commentary and analysis to broadcast outlets in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Micek’s first novel, “Ordinary Angels,” was released in 2019 by Sunbury Press.