Bucks County's COVID cases up 13.8%; Pennsylvania cases surge 10.1%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
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New coronavirus cases leaped in Pennsylvania in the week ending Sunday, rising 10.1% as 22,277 cases were reported. The previous week had 20,240 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Pennsylvania ranked 42nd among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 7.4% from the week before, with 906,593 cases reported. With 3.85% of the country's population, Pennsylvania had 2.46% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 28 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Johns Hopkins University has been getting data on an erratic schedule from Pennsylvania, skewing week-to-week comparisons.

Bucks County reported 924 cases and 10 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 812 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 137,579 cases and 1,976 deaths.

Montgomery County reported 1,326 cases and five deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,298 cases and eight deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 174,986 cases and 2,401 deaths.

A flower is placed on a portrait of fallen Lee County Sheriff's Sgt. Steven Mazzotta at the Beyond the Call of Duty-Ride to Remember trailer wall at the Lee County Sheriff's Office on Monday, July 4, 2022, in Florida. Mazzotta died of complications of COVID-19. The Officer Down Memorial Page says more than 600 law enforcement officers have died of COVID-19. The End of Watch Ride started in Spokane, Washington, on June 1 is traveling 79 days across the United States making tribute stops at hundreds of law enforcement agencies to honor fallen law enforcement officers.

​Within Pennsylvania, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Sullivan County with 445 cases per 100,000 per week; Forest County with 359; and Columbia County with 263. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Allegheny County, with 2,629 cases; Philadelphia County, with 2,082 cases; and Montgomery County, with 1,326. Weekly case counts rose in 51 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Allegheny, Lancaster and Northampton counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Across Pennsylvania, cases fell in 12 counties, with the best declines in Philadelphia County, with 2,082 cases from 2,739 a week earlier; in Lackawanna County, with 439 cases from 499; and in Cambria County, with 297 cases from 329. ​

In Pennsylvania, 117 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 98 people were reported dead.

A total of 3,080,593 people in Pennsylvania have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 46,164 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 91,316,648 people have tested positive and 1,029,926 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Pennsylvania's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 31. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,238

  • The week before that: 4,040

  • Four weeks ago: 3,545

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 75,143

  • The week before that: 73,476

  • Four weeks ago: 63,312

Hospitals in 24 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: COVID-19 cases up nearly 14 percent this week in Bucks County