Citing a decline in coronavirus-positive hospitalizations, Mount Nittany Medical Center announced Tuesday it will begin resuming some elective surgeries after originally postponing them last month.

Elective surgeries and procedures that don’t require overnight stays, including cardiac procedures, will resume. However, operations that would normally require an overnight stay will remain postponed through the end of January.

In the meantime, the hospital said it will continue current safety protocols, including testing patients and scheduling procedures early.

Forty-two coronavirus-positive individuals aged between 28 and 99 years old are currently receiving treatment at the hospital. Mount Nittany Medical Center averaged 44 virus-positive inpatients per day over the past week, down from 49 per day throughout December, which allowed some operations to resume.

“The number of COVID positive inpatients is still quite high, and we have had to continue the long-term adjustments to surgical care for those needing an admission through January,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi said. “We continue to monitor on a daily basis, and we will make adjustments as needed to serve our COVID positive inpatients and those needing us for acute and surgical care.”

The hospital admitted 245 virus-positive patients in December, up 102 from November.

Joshi added that despite the decline in cases and minor vaccine distribution throughout the community, Centre County residents must remain vigilant and continue following preventative measures.

“Even with vaccines gradually being administered, everyone needs to continue taking the precautions we’ve all been talking about: wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and avoiding large gatherings,” Joshi said. “It is impossible to predict how long COVID will be with us, what levels of infection we’ll see going forward, and how long it will take before most of the population can be vaccinated.”

On Tuesday, Centre County reported 55 new coronavirus cases. It’s added 863 cases since January 1 and reported 9,840 since the pandemic began last spring, according to Pennsylvania’s Department of Health.