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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and no new deaths.
				That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 4,277; the death count remains at 190.
				Neighboring Lackawanna County has 2,799 cases and 216 deaths; Monroe County has 1,848 cases and 134 deaths.
				The Department of Health confirmed that there were 1,376 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 167,928. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.
				Allegheny is reporting an increase of 128 cases and Philadelphia is reporting an increase of 122 cases.
				The number of tests administered within the last 7 days between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, is 210,227 with 7,585 positive cases. There were 32,653 test results reported to the department through 10 p.m., Oct. 7.
				There are 8,299 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 27 new deaths reported.
				Mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home. Consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
				There are 1,013 cases who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases and 646 patients who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.
				There are 1,985,103 patients who have tested negative to date.
				Approximately 22% are ages 65 or older.
				Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
				The department is seeing significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19 to 24-year-olds. An alert was sent to healthcare providers about the changing COVID-19 case demographics, as there are more cases in younger age groups than in those 50-64 and 65-plus.
				In nursing and personal care homes, there are 23,611 resident cases of COVID-19, and 5,229 cases among employees, for a total of 28,840 at 999 distinct facilities in 61 counties.
				Out of our total deaths, 5,528 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. .
				Approximately 11,160 of our total cases are among health care workers.

25 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Luzerne County, 1,376 statewide