New cases for COVID-19 have fallen below 1,000 per day in the commonwealth for the fourth time in a row this week, with the Poconos showing some particularly promising numbers in some spots.
The Department of Health announced Wednesday that 888 new cases of the virus had been confirmed, along with 94 newly-reported deaths, bringing Pennsylvania’s totals to 51,845 patients and 3,106 fatalities.
Only four new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Monroe since Tuesday, according to the report. Three cases were reported in Pike, along with one in Wayne and one in Carbon. Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne and Northampton, however, saw at least two-dozen cases of the virus each.
No new deaths were reported in Monroe, Pike or Wayne counties.
One new death was reported in Carbon County, along with three in Lackawanna, eight in Lehigh, three in Luzerne and five in Northampton.
In total, 1,190 cases and 60 deaths have been reported in Monroe County, in addition to 186 cases and 16 deaths in Carbon, 1,076 cases and 106 deaths in Lackawanna, 3,063 cases and 102 deaths in Lehigh, 2,306 cases and 107 deaths in Luzerne, 2,313 cases and 122 deaths in Northampton, 415 cases and 17 deaths in Pike, and 110 cases and five deaths in Wayne.
While the data shows some signs that counties in the northeast seem to faring slightly better than they were earlier on in the pandemic, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine has been adamant in her stance that trends over time provide a better picture for recovery than day-to-day data.
“We’re going to need to see if that trend continues, because the numbers and the data over time is the most important metric,” Levine said during the Tuesday coronavirus briefing.
As of Wednesday, then northeast region of the commonwealth counts 10,677 positive cases of COVID-19, second only to the southeast section of the state, which has nearly triple the case count with 33,133 cases.
Pennsylvania will see 24 counties, mainly situated in the northwest and north-central regions of the state, reopen this Friday with some restrictions relaxed, but others still in effect.
Definitive plans for reopening the northeast region are not yet in place, though both Levine and Governor Tom Wolf have repeatedly noted that data is being evaluated on a daily basis to determine if and when a community is ready to move from the red to the yellow phase of the reopening strategy.
This report will be updated as new information becomes available.