Certified Registered Nurse Kimberly Scheider does a nasal swab on a patient in their car at Penn State Health St. Joseph in Bern Township, Pennsylvania, March 27, 2020.
Pennsylvania health officials on Monday reported no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 for the first time in more than four months.
The last time that neither the state Department of Health nor a county health department confirmed a new coronavirus death in Pennsylvania was on March 20, when the statewide death toll stood at one. On Monday, health officials said the death toll remained at 7,209, while noting there's often a lag in reporting of cases and deaths from the weekend.
Deaths have been trending down in Pennsylvania since mid-May, while infections have been climbing since mid-June.
The state Department of Health reported 565 new virus infections on Monday. More than 114,000 people in Pennsylvania have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Allegheny County reported an increase of 68 cases and Philadelphia reported 71 new cases.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
