Pa. Health Dept.: While vaccinations rise, more than 5,700 new cases of COVID-19

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 5,725 new cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth on Friday, up from Thursday’s tally of 5,253 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 1.5 million since the start of the pandemic.

At midday Friday, there were 2,946 people hospitalized with COVID-19, down slightly from Thursday’s total of 2,978 people.

Of that number, 687 people were in hospital intensive care units, up from Thursday’s tally of 664 patients. A total of 384 people were using ventilators on Friday, nearly unchanged from Thursday’s tally of 388 people, according to data posted to the state’s pandemic tracking website.

The department confirmed 82 new deaths attributed to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 to 30,418 since the start of the pandemic.

As of midday Friday, Pennsylvania’s positivity rate was 9.6 percent, and 70.1 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 or older were fully vaccinated, the Health Department said in a statement.