Pa. Dept. of Health: More than 11K new COVID-19 cases over the weekend; More than 2,900 hospitalized

By: John L. Micek - October 18, 2021 1:29 pm

After a second dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, a swarm of antibodies attacks the virus. (Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images)

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 11,208 new cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth between 12 a.m. on Saturday and 12 a.m. on Monday, bringing the statewide total to more than 1.51 million cases since the start of the pandemic.

As of midday Monday, there were 2,919 people hospitalized statewide. Of that number, 665 people were in hospital intensive care units, and 381 people were using a ventilator, according to data posted to the state’s pandemic tracking website.

The department confirmed 105 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 to 30,523 since the start of the pandemic.

As of midday Monday, Pennsylvania’s positivity rate rose to 9.7 percent up from 9.6 percent last week, and 70.7 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 or older were fully vaccinated, the Health Department said in a statement.

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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.