PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) – The Allegheny County Health Department has announced an additional 109 cases of COVID-19 in the area Monday, an all-time high since the outbreak began in March.
There have now been 2,760 positive cases in the county. 395 of those have been reported in the past four days alone.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said on KDKA Radio Tuesday that those numbers are concerning.
The county is also reporting seven new hospitalizations to bring that total to 393 past or present.
No additional deaths have been reported for the fourth day in a row.
186 confirmed or probable deaths related to coronavirus have been reported by the ACHD.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen announced that bars and restaurants will be temporarily banned from selling alcohol for on-site consumption in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
That ban starts at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
He says the spike in new cases is mainly among young people going to bars in Oakland and the South Side and that is the reason for the ban on alcohol says in all bars and restaurants in the county.
Health experts have said it is important to keep an eye on the number of hospitalizations and deaths that are reported.
Fitzgerald adds while he knows the move is frustrating to both owners and patrons, "the science is the science."
"You can have a political opinion all you want about wearing a mask, about going to this place or that place but we've seen this pattern of epidemiology in place after place in this country," said Fitzgerald.
Mr. Fitzgerald also says he will meet with owners of the establishments affected by the sweeping order on Thursday.
.The Allegheny County Health Department has a digital map that can be used to follow the positive cases and their locations and densities across the county.
___Listen to KDKA Radio on the RADIO.COM AppTell your smart speaker to "play News Radio 10 20 KDKA"Receive email updates from KDKA RadioFollow KDKA Radio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram





