COVID Deaths Up, Cases Down: See Latest Bucks Co. Data

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Last week was Bucks County's deadliest week of the coronavirus outbreak since mid-May, with state officials reporting 56 new deaths.

That number, from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, already makes December the county's third most-deadly month of the pandemic, with nearly two weeks left to go. In the first 18 days of December, 116 Bucks County residents with COVID-19 died, according to state records.

During the pandemic's first peak in the spring, there were 280 Bucks County deaths in April and 253 deaths in May. After a period during which new cases and deaths had dropped, the fall surge saw 93 Bucks County deaths in November.

In all, 838 Bucks County residents have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Of those, 571 were residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The new death totals come as the number of newly reported coronavirus cases in Bucks County actually began to decline. State figures showed 2,645 new infections in Bucks County last week — down 22 percent from the 3,374 reported the week before.

During that same period, the seven-day average of new cases dropped from a record high 520 cases per day two weeks ago to 377 last week.

On Dec. 10, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a set of new coronavirus restrictions intended to help curb the out-of-control spread of the virus. They included a ban on indoor dining at restaurants and the closure of gyms, theaters, casinos and other businesses. They're set to expire Jan. 4.

Since the pandemic began, numbers for hospitalizations and deaths have lagged behind new case numbers, usually by a couple of weeks.

Bucks County's test positivity rate also ticked downward last week, but remained at a troubling 16.4 percent, down from 17.7 percent the previous week.

"Our cases have now clearly stabilized, and even dropped, from the peak of the surge," said Bucks County Health Department director Dr. David Damsker. "Usually deaths and hospitalizations follow the same trend soon after."

At a news conference on Friday, Damsker noted that the fall surge began well before Thanksgiving, but was made worse by family gatherings and other unsafe practices during the holiday.

"The surge didn’t start with Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving made the surge worse," he said.

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A total of 176 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in Bucks County, with 33 of them on ventilators. State officials reported that 22 percent of the county’s adult ICU beds, 37 percent of its medical surgical beds and 62 percent of its ventilators remain available.

A total of 26,721 coronavirus cases have been reported in Bucks County during the pandemic.

Bucks County’s test positivity rate also declined to 16.4 percent last week after peaking at 17.7 percent the previous week. Statewide, the positivity rate fell from 16.2 percent to 15.8 percent.

In Pennsylvania, light at the end of the tunnel has arrived in the form of a coronavirus vaccine. Last week, 97 hospitals across the state received 97,500 doses of the vaccine and 17,700 doses had been administered by Sunday, the state reported.

County commissioners also urge the public to download the free COVID Alert PA app, which uses bluetooth technology to let a person know they have been exposed to COVID-19 without compromising the identity or location of either the person using the app, or the person to whom they may have been exposed.