'COVID Remains A Threat,' Gov. Wolf Says, As Cases Near Plateau

PENNSYLVANIA — The fourth wave of coronavirus has slowed slightly over the past week, and some experts are optimistic that the end of it could be near. But for now, the rise is still continuing, and state officials are still sounding a cautious note about the pandemic.

“COVID-19 remains a threat in our communities," Gov. Tom Wolf said this week, after 24,394 new cases of the virus were reported over the past seven days. That's about 450 more than the week before, according to the state's Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard, which tracks six key metrics to monitor the strength of the virus and health of communities. These latest statistics cover the period from April 9 through April 15.

"We continue to report thousands of cases each day," Wolf added, noting that "the vaccines are giving us a glimmer of hope as we continue our fight."

Driven by more-contagious variants of the virus, the statewide percent positivity rate has also increased for weeks, although that increase was also modest this week compared to recent gains made by the virus in the state. It stands now at 9.6 percent, just 0.1 higher than the 9.5 percent it stood at the week before.

Other metrics, such as incidence rate per 100,000 Pennsylvania residents, also showed a similarly modest rise over the past week from 187 to 190.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's PolicyLab, which forecasts case numbers in the region and around the country, sounded a "cautiously optimistic" note in its latest update on the fourth wave. In some counties and in other parts of the country, the percent positivity rate has declined.

"During prior case surges in this pandemic, improvement in test positivity rates, especially when widespread over a region, was often a sign that a decline in case incidence and hospitalizations would soon follow," the Lab noted.

The fourth wave of the virus has been ongoing for about a month, with the statewide percent positivity rating rising several points in that time.

On the health care front, the average daily number of hospitalizations increased from 2,333 to 2,532. The percentage of emergency room visits due to COVID-19 symptoms increased from 0.8 to 0.9, and the average daily number of patients on ventilators rose from 229 to 259.

As of Wednesday's data, there have been a total of 25,827 COVID-related deaths in Pennsylvania since the onset of the pandemic.

The state continues to ramp up its vaccine effort. As of Wednesday's data, 4.8 million Pennsylvanians have received at least their first dose.