'Looking Better': New Cases, Positivity Rate Down In Bucks Co.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — New coronavirus infections in Bucks County hit their lowest level since before the Thanksgiving spike last week, according to state numbers.

The county ended last week with a seven-day average of 331 new COVID-19 cases per day. The 2,314 new cases from Dec. 20-26 were down 13 percent from last week and 31 percent from the record high reported two weeks earlier.

Another 38 deaths were attributed to the virus in Bucks County during that same period, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Of those, at least 14 were residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. All but one, a 52-year-old woman, were older than 65.

While calling the dip in new cases good news, health officials in Bucks County were urging residents to avoid gatherings on New Year's Eve that could cause a new spike in infections.

"Things are certainly looking better over the past two weeks," said Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health. "However, we could undermine some of the progress if people get together at parties for New Year’s later this week. Let’s be smart."

The number of new infections also fell across Pennsylvania last week, the second full week since Gov. Tom Wolf enacted a new set of COVID-19 restrictions aimed at curbing what had become out-of-control spread of the virus.

Pennsylvania's seven-day average of 7,704 new cases per day was the state's lowest rate since Dec. 2. The trend will not, however, prompt the state to lift the restrictions on indoor dining and other activities before their Jan. 4 expiration date, said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

"It’s critically important to continue our mitigation efforts and really not get together in gatherings on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day," Levine said. "We want to make sure the current plateau and even decrease that we are seeing continues in the new year."

Since the pandemic began, 29,039 coronavirus infections had been reported in Bucks County through Saturday.

The county has reported 154 new deaths from COVID-19 during December. That puts the month on pace to be the county's third-deadliest of the pandemic behind April (280 deaths) and May (253 deaths).

In all, there have been 876 deaths from COVID-19 in Bucks County.

The percentage of positive tests in Bucks County also ticked downward last week, to 15.1 percent. While that's still high, it's down from 16.4 percent a week earlier. The statewide positivity rate also was 15.1 percent last week.

In Bucks County hospitals, 167 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Saturday. That's down slightly from the 176 in the hospital a week before. Of the 167, 23 were on ventilators.

State officials that 31 percent of Bucks County's adult ICU beds, 34 percent of its medical surgical beds and 71 percent of its ventilators remained available at the end of last week.

Bucks County commissioners were urging residents to download the free COVID Alert PA app, which uses Bluetooth technology to let a person know if they've been exposed to the virus without compromising the identity or location of either the person using the app or the person to whom they may have been exposed.

This article originally appeared on the Warminster Patch