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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 43 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and no new deaths.
				That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 4,824; the death count remains at 190.
				Neighboring Lackawanna County has 3,400 cases &mdash; an increase of 44 over Tuesday &mdash; and 217 deaths; Monroe County has 1,944 cases and 134 deaths.
				The Department of Health confirmed that there were 1,425 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 186,297.
				Allegheny County is reporting an increase of 114 cases and Philadelphia County is reporting an increase of 100 cases.
				The number of tests administered within the last 7 days between Oct. 14 and Oct. 20, is 225,406 with 10,226 positive cases. There were 25,152 test results reported to the department through 10 p.m., Oct. 20.
				There are 8,562 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 29 new deaths reported.
				There are 1,963 individuals who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases and 648 individuals who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.
				There are 2,167,536 individuals who have tested negative to date.
				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 24,830 resident cases of COVID-19, and 5,417 cases among employees, for a total of 30,247 at 1,033 distinct facilities in 62 counties. Out of our total deaths, 5,666 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
				Approximately 11,795 of our total cases are among health care workers.

43 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Luzerne County; 1,425 statewide