Topics

More

State College America’s Second-Fastest-Growing Coronavirus Hot Spot

Facing rapidly rising coronavirus case numbers, State College is the second-fastest-growing metropolitan coronavirus hot spot in America, according to the New York Times.

The Times‘ investigation, updated Wednesday morning, found the borough’s 763 new coronavirus cases, up from 195 a week ago, particularly alarming. State College’s relative change of 350 cases per 100,000 people ranked second among eligible metropolitan areas consisting of at least 50,000 residents.

Interestingly, the Times‘ report includes several other college towns, including Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University), Athens, Ohio (Ohio University), Gainesville, Florida (University of Florida), and Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin-Madison), among others. Just like State College, it’s likely college towns’ rising case numbers stem from students returning to campuses.

On Tuesday, Centre County reported 212 new coronavirus cases, marking the county’s highest single-day increase since reporting its first case on March 20. State College and University Park reported a combined 201 confirmed cases in Tuesday’s update.

To date, 818 confirmed cases and 24 probable cases have been reported in State College’s ZIP code (16801), according to Pennsylvania’s Department of Health. Centre County has found 1,508 cases since testing began.

Currently, it’s unclear where the discrepancy between the Times and the state’s case numbers lies.

The New York Times‘ graphic hasn’t included data from Wednesday’s coronavirus testing data. It should be updated Wednesday afternoon, however.

On the other side of College Ave., Penn State has reported 1,145 University Park coronavirus positives to date. The university added 458 positives in the latest update to its COVID-19 Dashboard Tuesday but doesn’t plan on changing its fall semester approach yet.

We’ll update this post with more information as it becomes available.

Your ad blocker is on.

Please choose an option below.

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter:
OR
Support quality journalism:
Purchase a Subscription!

About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

Big Ten Championship Staff Predictions: No. 3 Penn State Football vs. No. 1 Oregon

Our staffers are leaning toward an Oregon win with this one.

Mike Rhoades Asked, Penn State Hoops Fans Answered

“This is what we’re gonna do.”

LibraryTok: Penn State Alum Jen Miller’s TikTok Book Return Brings Fame

Miller has over 660,000 followers on her TikTok page, “Meet Me in the Media Center.”

113kFollowers
164kFollowers
62.7kFollowers
4,570Subscribers
Sign up for our Newsletter