Bucks County is averaging about 26 new COVID-19 cases per day, down from 35 the week prior. Seven people were hospitalized as of Thursday, two of whom were in critical condition and on ventilators.
“This week is a good example of what we’re likely to experience for the foreseeable future,” said Bucks County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker. “Our case counts and hospitalization numbers fluctuated a little bit over the past seven days, and since we won’t be at zero cases any time soon, this makes a lot of sense. Thankfully, the overall numbers are very good, and the ups and downs are minor.”
Of the 80 new cases reported over a span of three days last week, five were delayed reports and are believed to no longer be infectious.
The county Health Department also recorded two more deaths caused by the coronavirus: an 82-year-old man who died Sept. 5 outside of Bucks County, and a 49-year-old woman who died Tuesday. Both patients had underlying health conditions.
Household spread accounted for more than a third of infections reported last week contributing 32 cases to the new tally. Eighteen cases were attributed to community spread. Patients in 11 of the new cases could not be immediately interviewed. Six new cases appeared out of long-term care facilities since last Monday, with four healthcare workers also testing positive. Four employees contracted the virus in other workplaces. Five cases were pinned on out-of-state travel.
Bucks County has had a total of 7,662 cases of COVID-19, of which 6,763 have recovered. The virus has caused 520 deaths in the county.
On a statewide basis, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine released a weekly status update detailing the state’s mitigation efforts based on the COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. This week’s update compares the period of Sept. 4-10 to the previous seven days, Aug. 28-Sept. 3.
“Our percent positivity increased again this week, even while the number of new cases dropped, a sign that this virus continues to affect Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said. “We must continue our focus on taking actions to protect ourselves and others, such as wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing our hands and avoiding large gatherings. Together, Pennsylvanians can be united to work to prevent the spread of the virus.”
As of Thursday, Sept. 10, the state has seen a seven-day increase of 5,012; the previous seven-day increase was 5,502, indicating a 490-case decrease across the state over the past week. The statewide percent positivity went up to 4.2 percent from 4.0 percent last week.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 8,175 total cases of COVID-19 among 5-18-year-olds. Of that total, 387 occurred between Sept. 4-10. For the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3, there were 486 cases of COVID among that age group.
Additionally, the Department of Health updated its travel recommendations. Hawaii, North Carolina and Texas were removed from the list of states travelers returning to Pennsylvania from are recommended to quarantine for 14 days.
