Pennnsylvania virus cases, hospitalizations rise sharply

Madeleine Ngo, Danielle Ivory, Lauren Leatherby and Robert Gebeloff

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Pennsylvania as state officials warn of trends seen across the country: increased travel levels, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants.

Pennsylvania is reporting an average of 4,922 cases a day, up from roughly 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have climbed about 16% in the past two weeks, and the state now has one of the highest per capita daily case counts in the country. Deaths, which tend to lag behind infections by weeks, have started to slightly increase again after plunging from the state’s high of a daily average of 222 in mid-January. Deaths now average about 37 a day.

State and national health officials are also worried about the spread of more contagious virus variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain. That variant is estimated to be about 60% more contagious and 67% more deadly than the original version.

B.1.1.7 is the most common source of new coronavirus infections in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28% of Pennsylvania’s cases involve that variant, and it is spreading in a vast majority of two dozen other states with high caseloads. In Michigan, more than 57% of cases involve B.1.1.7; in Tennessee, the figure is over 60%.

New Jersey and New York, where the variant accounts for roughly 30% of cases, are starting to see case counts drop.

Although nearly all of Pennsylvania’s counties are “at a high level of risk transmission,” Alison Beam, Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary, said the state did not have plans to impose new lockdowns. She urged people to continue wearing masks, social distancing and getting vaccinated.

“At this stage, our hospitals have not indicated to us that they are overrun or that they foresee being overrun,” Beam said. “That will be truly one of our key gauges of when any further mitigation effort would need to be even contemplated.”

James Garrow, communications director of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, said the number of cases in the city appeared to be growing as restrictions gradually lift. If the city continues on this path for another month, officials would “seriously discuss” imposing fresh regulations to keep hospitalizations down, he said.

Dr. John Zurlo, division director of infectious disease at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, said that he had seen a steady increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past six weeks and that most patients were in the 45-64 age group. A vast majority of those patients had not been vaccinated, he said. Like most states, Pennsylvania prioritized vaccinating older groups but opened eligibility to all adults Tuesday.

And Pennsylvania’s vaccination campaign is ahead of most states. About 43% of the state’s population has received at least one shot, including roughly 26% who have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC. Nationally, 39% of the population has received at least one shot, and 25% have been fully vaccinated.