Pa. adds more than 4,800 new COVID-19 cases; more than 2,300 hospitalized

Pennsylvania’s increase in COVID-19 infections continued unabated Wednesday, with the state adding 4,812 new cases, an increase of more than 1,000 cases over Tuesday’s tally of 3,732 new cases, according to new state Health Department tracking data.

Statewide, 2,333 people were hospitalized, up from Tuesday’s total of 2,308 people. There were 564 people in hospital intensive care units on Wednesday, compared to 580 people on Tuesday. The number of people using a ventilator, however, rose from 271 people on Tuesday to 280 people on Wednesday, according to data posted to the Health Department’s pandemic tracking website.

Wednesday’s new case count brings the total number of positive cases since the start of the pandemic to nearly 1.36 million, the Health Department said in a statement.

The Health Department confirmed 45 new fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 28,696. The statewide positivity rate continued to stand at 9.1 percent, up from 8.2 percent last week.

On Tuesday, a state House committee voted to ask an obscure regulatory panel to review the Wolf administration’s statewide mask order for K-12 students and staff, and children and staff in childcare centers, the Capital-Star reported.