Hospitalizations ease as COVID-19 cases continue to trend lower.

As COVID-19 cases continue to fall, related hospitalizations have also come down.

Wednesday’s update by the Department of Health showed 929 inpatients being treated for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, including 229 in intensive care units and 143 using ventilators or breathing machines.

Across Cambria, Blair, Somerset and Bedford counties, there were 41 patients – with nine in ICUs and eight with breathing assistance.

Hospitalizations dropped below 1,000 statewide on Tuesday for the first time since late October.

One week ago, there were 1,172 inpatients statewide and 54 across the local four-county area.

Meanwhile, there was no post-holiday jump in new COVID-19 cases in Wednesday’s report.

Pennsylvania added 580 new positives and 45 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state totals to 1,203,443 cases and 27,259 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

It’s the fifth consecutive day with fewer than 1,000 new cases.

Three deaths in Westmoreland County and one in Somerset County were the only additional fatalities in the eight-county region.

Cambria County had 25 new cases; Westmoreland County had 21; Indiana County had 10; Somerset, Bedford and Centre counties each had seven; and Blair and Clearfield counties each had six.

Vaccine provides have administered 10,619,481 doses across Pennsylvania, with 4,722,449 people now fully vaccinated.

Another 1,568,368 people are partially vaccinated, meaning they have received one dose of a two-dose vaccine.