New COVID Cases Down 22 Percent In Bucks County
BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Following two weeks of climbing numbers after the Christmas holiday, the number of new coronavirus infections in Bucks County dropped last week.
Last week's 2,117 new COVID-19 cases, as reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, was a 22 percent decrease from the previous week and dropped the county's seven-day average to its lowest point since before Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, 30 Bucks County residents died last week with the virus, pushing the county's total to 970 since the pandemic began. At least six of the people who died lived in long-term care facilities and all but two were 65 or older, according to county health officials.
The number of new cases in Bucks County from Jan. 10-16 was 593 fewer than the previous week and averaged 299 per day. That's the county's lowest daily average since Nov. 22, when it also stood at 299 per day.
Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Health Department, called the new numbers encouraging, but warned that they are still dramatically higher than they were just a few months ago.
"Our numbers are definitely improving as the post-holiday surge has calmed down," Damsker said. "However, there are still 10 times as many cases as there were over the summer. Let’s continue to be smart and safe while doing the things we need to do."
In Bucks County hospitals, 165 patients were being treated for the coronavirus as of Monday, with 24 of them on ventilators. Hospital capacity remained solid, with 28 percent of adult ICU beds and 30 percent of adult surgical beds available, according to state data.
Along with reduced case numbers, the positivity rate of people tested for the virus in Bucks County also dropped last week, from 14.7 percent to 12.6 percent, officials said. A total of 36,295 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Bucks County since the pandemic began.
Also last week, health agencies continued to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine in Bucks County.
By week's end, 15,960 partial vaccinations had been given in Bucks County, while 3,431 people had received both doses of the two-shot vaccine. Like the rest of Pennsylvania, Bucks County is in Phase 1A of the vaccine rollout, during which healthcare workers and residents and employees of long-term care facilities are being vaccinated.
Phase 1B, which currently opens up vaccines to everyone 75 and older and a broader range of health industry and essential workers, is expected to begin some time in February, according to state officials. And it's possible that phase is going to be expanded to more people before then.
Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said last week she intends to adopt federal recommendations that everyone 65 and older be eligible for Phase 1B.
COVID-19 Vaccine In Pennsylvania: Everything You Need To Know
Last week, Bucks County announced that essential workers who will be eligible for vaccinations during the next two phases of the rollout may now register with the county health department to be notified when and how they can get a vaccine.
Anyone 65 or older who already has registered for Phase 1C will automatically be moved to Phase 1B if the state adopts the age change, county officials said.
Throughout Pennsylvania, 393,557 partial vaccinations and 63,790 full vaccinations have been given so far (with the exception of Philadelphia, which has its own reporting system). Bucks County has opened an appointment-only vaccination clinic in Langhorne for EMS workers and other healthcare workers not affiliated with one of the county's hospitals.
More than 1,500 doses were given at that clinic, which is not open to the public, between Tuesday and Friday.
Bucks also has opened three free COVID-19 testing sites on campuses of Bucks County Community College. The sites will be open seven days a week through at least Jan. 31 and each have the capacity to test up to 350 people per day, with results expected in 48-72 hours.
Vaccinations are not being given at those sites, though county officials have said there is a chance they will be converted to vaccine sites once the vaccine is widely available to the public.
Bucks County commissioners are urging the public to download the free COVID Alert PA app, which uses Bluetooth technology to let a person know that they have been exposed to COVID-19 without compromising the identity or location of either the person using the app or of the person to whom they may have been exposed.
This article originally appeared on the Bensalem Patch
