John Hugya For Congress issued the following announcement on April 9.
Louis Blum, 87, of Dysart, has been identified as Cambria County's first COVID-19 death.
Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross says Blum died Sunday at UPMC Altoona, where he had been taken for respiratory distress.
Blum tested positive for coronavirus at the hospital.
His death was among a record 78 new deaths reported Tuesday by the Department of Health. Another 70 deaths in patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were added in Wednesday's report, bringing the statewide total to 310.
Also in Wednesday's update, two new Cambria County cases were among 1,680 additional positive cases, for total of 16,239 confirmed infections statewide.
Wednesday's report included no additional deaths in this region.
With two new cases Wednesday, there were nine Cambria County residents who had tested positive for coronavirus.
Other counties in the immediate area reported no additional coronavirus cases. Somerset County remained at seven cases, Blair County had six, Bedford County had four and Indiana County had 21 confirmed cases.
Elsewhere in western Pennsylvania, Fayette County reported three new cases, for a total of 35, and Westmoreland County added six to reach 183 COVID-19 patients.
Fayette reported one death and Westmoreland has reported no deaths.
Wednesday's new cases increased the state's coronavirus total by 11.5%, extending a period of slower growth. The daily rate of increase has declined every day for a week.
Both Health Secretary Rachel Levine and Gov. Tom Wolf said the trend is hopeful news, although significant increases continue, especially in eastern Pennsylvania.
“We have seen a subtle flattening of the curve, which is good news,” Levine said. “We are still seeing, though, these significant increases ... It's no longer going up in an exponential curve, which was doubling every number of days.”
The trajectory shows that stay-at-home orders, business shutdowns and other efforts are working, she said.
Experts still expect significant increases in hospitalizations and deaths, she added.
“If we are able to keep that as a flatter curve … then we will not overwhelm our health care system,” Levine said. “It is essential now, more than ever, to please stay home.”
Wolf also stressed the importance of continued social distancing, pointing to the 1,680 new cases in Wednesday's update.
“While we are no longer seeing exponential growth in new cases daily, this continued growth should serve as a reminder to everyone that we do not yet have this virus under control,” Wolf said. “Now is not the time to become complacent.
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