No New Coronavirus Shutdown Planned In Bucks County

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — With new coronavirus cases in Bucks County at their highest level since the pandemic began, county commissioners said Tuesday they have no plans for another shutdown.

"A lot of people are wondering, are we going to shut down again ... ," Diane Ellis Marseglia, chairwoman of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, said during a news conference Tuesday. "There is no reason that we will have to do that if everyone is wearing a mask."

Commissioners scheduled the conference after a week when Bucks County reported its highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

The Bucks County Department of Health reported 826 new cases of COVID-19 from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 7. That's an average of about 118 new cases per day — a 79 percent increase over the previous week and 3.5 times higher than a month earlier.

The county also set a new single-day record for cases on Friday, when 161 were reported. The previous record was 144, set on April 15.

Bucks County Department of Health director Dr. David Damsker said the severity of new cases during the fall surge is down from what it was in the spring, when death and hospitalization rates were much higher.

"We're going to have a few deaths from this, unfortunately, because there are still people out there who are susceptible to this virus," Damsker said. "But I do think our treatments are better. While it's not great to be in the middle of a surge, I do think it's better news than it was in the spring."

In the spring, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered schools, as well as most businesses and other public spaces, to shut down in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Those restrictions were mostly lifted as case numbers dwindled, although mask mandates and other safety protocols have remained in place.

Commissioners also said they had no plans of mandating Thanksgiving celebrations be canceled, but did urge caution. A big part of the recent spread of the virus in Bucks County came from Halloween parties, football gatherings and other social events, they said.

"I don't think we're saying cancel all plans" for Thanksgiving, Marseglia said. "I think we're saying trim the plans back a lot. It isn't so awful to be around your family and wear a mask. It is an act of love.

"You're going to need to get creative and show your love in a different way."

As commissioners and other officials spoke Tuesday, trucks were rolling out, delivering hundreds of thousands of masks and other pieces of protective equipment to Bucks County's six hospitals, emergency workers and others who come into contact with the public.

On Monday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said there is no current plan for a statewide school shutdown, either — despite new statewide coronavirus cases also hitting record levels.

Levine said while the coronavirus is prevalent in the community and is spreading, school closures will continue to be determined at the district level.

In Bucks, Damsker said 261 students and 59 school staff members have been infected this semester. But, he said, those infections have not been happening at schools, where they are required to wear masks and distance, but outside the classroom.

Commissioners urged everyone to observe the same level of mask-wearing, saying it will be the key to shutting down the virus.

"People are getting tired of wearing the masks, going out to Halloween parties and other parties," said Commissioner Bob Harvie. "We need them to just buckle down and get through the next few months."

This article originally appeared on the Yardley Patch