HARRISBURG, Pa. - Today, Health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said the findings came after a quote “ deep dive “ into data from testing labs and healthcare facilities.
“As a result our case count of impacted facilities and cases in these facilities has increased substantially,” said Levine.
More than 3000 of the cases in the state are in long term and elderly care facilities, in half the state’s counties.
In Lehigh County there have been 125 cases in 10 facilities and 10 deaths. In Northampton County there have been 211 cases in 10 facilities and 9 deaths
“We continue to work closely with these facilities to provide infection control support and personal protective equipment,” said Levine.
There have been nearly 650 deaths in the state and more than 320 were in long term care.
Levine emphasized that Pennsylvanians need to continue to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus into these facilities.
Infections in long term care facilities make up approximately 10% of the cases across the state. There are now more than 26-thousand COVID-19 cases in the state. And while that total continues to rise, the percent increase in new cases has dropped.