The number of Penn State students at University Park who have tested positive for COVID-19 has increased by 458 — a 28% jump — since the numbers were updated Tuesday, according to the latest data from the university.
Penn State’s online dashboard lists 2,123 total positive cases among University Park students. That’s up from 1,665 listed Tuesday.
The number of cases at Penn State Altoona is also increasing. According to the dashboard, there are 67 active COVID-19 cases among students. There have been 79 cases at that campus, which is in Blair County.
Blair County has been seeing an increase in its cases. According to the state Department of Heath’s numbers Friday, there are 648 known cases in Blair County, up from 548 on Sept. 18.
Today's 458-increase in cases at University Park is the same size as the jump seen on Sept. 15.
The Penn State University Park numbers include 819 active cases, according to the dashboard. There are 143 students in isolation with the virus and 57 in quarantine with possible exposure.
There are 154,203 known cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, according to Friday’s report from the state Department of Health.
Centre County has 2,231 known cases, including five patients who are hospitalized.
Mount Nittany Health confirmed Friday that it has five inpatients being treated for COVID-19. All of them are above the age of 80.
"We have been extremely fortunate so far that the rapid rise in cases locally has not translated into the growth of hospitalized cases, however, this can change very quickly," Chief Medical Officer Nirmal Joshi said in an email. "We are gathering information and monitoring local trends daily, and we have plans that would enable us to flex our hospital capacity if needed."
