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Credit: Tom Sofield / LevittownNow.com
In just one month, Bucks County has seen COVID-19 cases jump just over 260%.
As officials sounded the alarm bells about the massive spike – the one seen across the country – they also noted that the hospitalization and death rate remained lower than in the spring.
Bucks County’s positive COVID-19 tests fell from 229 new cases in the first full week of October to 826 new infections last week, the first full week of November. This figure marks an increase of 260% from last month and 79% from the previous week.
The Bucks County Health Department reported a one-day record of 161 new cases on Friday. The previous record was 144 new cases on April 15.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine said on Monday that rates of COVID-19 cases statewide were increasing at a faster rate than at any other time in the pandemic. She noted that all parts of the state are seeing cases explode.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has shifted Bucks County from a “moderate” level of transmission to a “substantial” level of spread. In a statement, the state noted that 6.2% of all COVID-19 tests in Bucks County were positive, up from previous weeks.
Last week, the county reported that a 54-year-old man, a 71-year-old man, and a 91-year-old woman had died from COVID-19. All three had underlying conditions and lived in long-term care facilities.
Since the start of the pandemic, Bucks County has seen 10,545 residents testing positive for COVID-19, 539 deaths and 8,953 confirmed recoveries. The median age of sick patients in the county is 48, while the median age of death is 84.
“Overall, the picture – while it’s not great to be in the middle of a flare – I think it’s better news than it was in the spring,” said Bucks County Department of Health Director Dr David Damsker citing the severity of the cases and hospitalization. the rates being lower in the spring.
The county has reported 16 Bucks Countians in hospitals with COVID-19 and one person in critical condition on a ventilator over the weekend.
Damsker said hospitals were able to treat COVID-19 patients earlier and get ahead of the impact of illnesses. He said medical professionals were trying to make early interventions on high-risk patients.
“The overall severity of cases is clearly on the decline,” the county’s top public health official said, adding that doesn’t mean people should let their guard down.
Medical treatments for COVID-19 have improved as doctors learned more, but hospitalization rates often lag behind the number of cases.
In nearby Philadelphia, officials said they had hundreds of people in hospitals because of COVID-19 and were “increasingly concerned.”
Bucks County Emergency Services Director Scott Forster and Damsker both said hospitals had surge plans in place and received additional supplies through the county government.
County officials told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday morning that contact tracing efforts, which are critical to identifying and slowing outbreaks, have been overwhelmed due to the massive number of cases.
According to data released by the county health department, among the 826 cases last week, there were 337 sick residents who did not speak to contact tracers.
“The problem we’re having is the numbers are just overwhelming,” Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie said of contact tracing efforts.
“With this very high number of cases, contract finding is starting to become difficult and less efficient, so we increasingly depend on education and on people taking personal responsibility for controlling the spread,” Damsker said. “We will continue to focus on schools and long-term care facilities as survey priorities.”
In addition to paid staff, the Bucks County Medical Reserve Corps, which is made up of volunteers with medical training, has assisted with contact tracing efforts.
Credit: Tom Sofield / LevittownNow.com
Harvie said every government hires contact tracers and all staff need to be trained, which is no easy task.
“It’s not like we can just run a search ad and get people in… at some point the critical mass becomes,” Harvie said.
Damsker noted that in the spring, as other communities were overwhelmed, Bucks County was still able to continue contact tracing from the start of the pandemic until last week.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine said on Monday there were problems tracking contact tracing and hearing from sick residents statewide.
“I can’t stress enough how absolutely essential this information is and how important it is for people to answer the call,” Levine said.
Bucks County Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said she believes “we’re absolutely avoiding” stay-at-home orders amid the rising number of cases.
She said officials hope to lower COVID-19 numbers by bringing precautions such as wearing a mask and physical distancing to the fore.
County, state and federal health experts have all said that wearing a mask around other people, sanitizing your hands, keeping a physical distance, and staying indoors when feeling sick are simple, proven ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 240,000 Americans since March.
“People are tired of wearing the mask… we just need people to buckle up,” Harvie said.
Ellis-Marseglia said COVID-19 can easily show up among vulnerable populations, such as those in nursing homes, if people are not careful. Bucks County long-term care facilities have caused the majority of COVID-19 deaths in the county.
Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo has urged residents to wear masks, citing that asymptomatic and pre-systematic patients who don’t even know they are sick can spread the virus.
“Please wear a mask when you are in public. You provide protections for everyone, ”said DiGirolamo.
Harvie said the county is seeing fewer cases of businesses like restaurants and retailers as people distance themselves and wear masks. More cases come from parties and meetings with family and friends. He said the recent outbreaks were due to Halloween parties, a group of high school kids gathering after a football game, weddings and colleagues eating lunch together.
“Please continue to wear the masks and social distancing,” Harvie said.
As a public health professional, Damsker noted that schools, where mandatory mask wearing and physical distancing are in place and heavily enforced, have experienced few major outbreaks.
“People get it from unmasked exhibits,” Damsker said.
The COVID-19 County press conference took place outside a new Bucks County Emergency Services warehouse, which was funded with federal homeland security funds, in Warrington Township. Reporters were able to observe city officials from across the county, including Middletown Township, picking up personal protective equipment and other supplies, for distribution to hospitals, emergency responders and long-term care facilities duration.
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