Pa. Health Dept.: More than 5,100 new COVID-19 cases; More than 2,500 hospitalized

By: John L. Micek - November 4, 2021 1:09 pm

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 5,162 new cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth on Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 1.58 million since the start of the pandemic.

As of Thursday afternoon, 2,571 people were hospitalized with the virus. Of those patients, 606 were in hospital intensive care units, and 366 were using a ventilator, according to data posted to the agency’s pandemic tracking website.

The department also confirmed 72 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 as of Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to the virus to 31,783 since the start of the pandemic, state data showed.

As of Thursday, the statewide positivity rate remained at 8.8 percent and 72.1 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 or older were fully vaccinated, according to the department.

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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.