The Lead

Pa. Health Dept: More than 5,800 new COVID-19 cases; 3K hospitalized

By: John L. Micek - October 7, 2021 12:55 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 5,819 new cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania on Thursday, up from 5,058 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases statewide to more than 1.46 million since the start of the pandemic.

As of Thursday, there were 3,001 people hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 2,891 on Wednesday, according to state health data. Of that number, 680 patients with COVID-19 are in the intensive care unit, and 370 were using a ventilator.

The department confirmed 92 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Pennsylvania on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 to 29,814 since the start of the pandemic.

Pennsylvania’s positivity rate remains at 9.1 percent.

As of midday Thursday, 69.3 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 or older are 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.