Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 hospitalizations arced upward again on Sept. 8, with more people in intensive care units, and more requiring a ventilator to survive, new state Department of Health data shows.
A total of 2,082 people were hospitalized as of midday on Sept. 8, up from 2,010 on Tuesday, according to data posted to the Health Department’s pandemic tracking website. The number of people in intensive care units rose from 496 on Sept. 7 to 506 on Sept. 8, while the number of patients requiring a ventilator rose from 248 people on Sept. 7 to 250 people on Sept. 8, the agency’s data showed.
The Health Department confirmed 4,391 new infections on Sept. 8, up from the 2,356 new cases it reported on Sept. 7. That brings the statewide tally to 1.32 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. The Health Department also reported 38 new fatalities, for a total of 28,446 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The statewide positivity rate stood unchanged at 8.2%, the agency said in a statement.
The new data comes a day after a statewide order mandating masks for K-12 students and children in childcare centers took effect. On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives announced it was cutting its summer vacation short to return to Harrisburg to try to undo the order.
That action comes on top of a lawsuit filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre) seeking to overturn the order. Corman was joined in the effort by parents and a Republican House lawmaker from central Pennsylvania.
John Micek is the Editor-in-Chief of the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, where this story first appeared.
Pennsylvania adds more COVID hospitalizations, more than 500 in ICUs
