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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Sunday reported 109 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County and the death count is at 468.
				That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Luzerne County to 17,929.
				Neighboring Lackawanna County has 9,224 cases and 269 deaths; Monroe County has 6,379 cases and 205 deaths.
				The Department of Health confirmed there were 9,253 new cases reported on Saturday, in addition to 7,714 new cases reported on Friday, for a two-day total of 16,967 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 657,292.
				There were 5,624 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 1,172 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
				The trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 5,500 since the end of September.
				Statewide percent positivity for the week of Dec. 25 to Dec. 31, stood at 15%.
				As of 11:59 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31, there were 236 new deaths and as of 11:59 p.m., Friday, Jan. 1, there were 25 new deaths reported for a total of reported for a total of 16,239 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
				Mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home. Consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
				COVID-19 vaccine distribution
				Pennsylvanian hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 14 and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 21.
				Through Jan. 1: 128,800 doses of the vaccine have been administered.
				All Pennsylvania residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertPA, a text notification system for health, weather, and other important alerts like COVID-19 updates from commonwealth agencies. Residents can sign up online at www.ready.pa.gov/BeInformed/Signup-For-Alerts.

109 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Luzerne County on Sunday