Berks records 576 new COVID cases, effectively a pandemic daily record

Diagnosed COVID-19 cases and reinfections continued at a blistering pace Saturday in Berks County, with effectively a record day for the 21-month pandemic.

There were 576 more in the pandemic dashboard update of the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The pandemic total of cases increased to 68,576.

The seven- and 14-day cases averages increased to 347 and 324, respectively, nearing record highs.

The dashboard update is a composite of the statistics of the previously day, in this case Friday. The averages smooth the uneven processing of tests.

There is typically a dip in processing on updates involving weekend days.

Over the past two weeks, there have been more than 4,500 new cases and reinfections, meaning more than 1% of the Berks population has become a COVID statistic. In the 2020 census, the population was 429,000.

The 576 is technically second to 1,465 cases from Jan. 31, which was a data dump of backlogged positives and it’s unclear how many that day were actually the result of daily testing.

At the time, the winter surge was winding down.

But now, the delta variant surge is ramping up as it ends its 22nd week. Four of the worst six days of the pandemic have occurred this month.

Berks is a part of the soaring southeast in Pennsylvania. The increase isn’t as high in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, but the next layer away, which includes Berks, is seeing a rush of cases.

Pennsylvania overall had 11,052 new cases and reinfections on Saturday, a second day in a row over 11,000. That only has happened one other time in the pandemic: Dec. 9-10, 2020, when both days were over 12,000.

In the past week, Berks officials have raised the alarm about the potential for the hospitals to be swamped with patients. Both Berks hospitals had been diverting patients sporadically during the past several days.

On Saturday, emergency radio traffic gave no indication of diversions. The patient total in the dashboard had fallen from Friday as well.

On Friday, the Berks County coroner’s office issued a report for 18 deaths in the prior three days.

Of the 18, COVID was detected in five posthumously. That was a high number and the office was able to verify that some of the deceased had not sought testing, acting Coroner Jonn M. Hollenbach said.

Worst days

These are the top 10 case days of the pandemic:

• 1,465: Jan. 31, 2021; product of a dump of backlogged cases

• 576: Dec. 11, 2021

• 550: April 13, 2021

• 511: Dec. 4, 2021

• 506: Dec. 2, 2021

• 467: Dec. 10, 2021

• 463: Dec. 2, 2020

• 440: Jan. 5, 2021

• 396: Dec. 30, 2020

• 392: Dec. 12, 2020

Weekly comparisons

The weekly reports issued by the state health department both point up.

In the Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard, Berks was a plus 139 in cases for the week ending Thursday versus the week ending Dec. 2.

There was an infection rate of 392 per 100,000 population and a pandemic record 20.2% positivity rate, which is a measure of positives versus all tests.

Pennsylvania overall had an increase of 3,914 cases, with an infection rate at 321 per 100,000 and a positivity rate at 14.4%, down nearly a point from the week ending Dec. 2.

Other nearby counties with an acceleration of cases: Lehigh and Lancaster, which are part of the southeast. Even Montgomery County was beginning to see an upturn.

York County, which is closest to Berks in terms of population, was also running hot with an infection rate at 405 per 100,000 and 21.5% positivity. York is in the south central part of the state.

The state results did not include the back-to-back 11,000 case days.

The weekly report for cases among juveniles was also available Saturday and it was at record levels, and continued to show that kids make up a big part of the delta surge.

The state began tracking those cases on Aug. 16. The weekly report ends with Tuesday.

The number of Berks preschool children under age 5 sickened with COVID was the most yet in a week at 91. Along with 366 cases among youths age 5 to 18, the total for the week was highest yet at 457, about 10% of the overall weekly total.

Pennsylvania overall had 2,159 in the younger age group and 9,214 in the older age group for a total of 11,373, about 1,500 more than the previous record week.

Hospitalizations

Berks COVID hospitalizations on Saturday dipped to 141, down 13 from Friday’s update.

But, 30 of them were in intensive care, a delta surge record.

It was another delta variant record for COVID hospitalizations across

Pennsylvania at 4,505, up three from Friday.

The ICU count increased to 964, an increase of 24 from Friday.

But Berks has 99 new admissions in the prior week, about double two weeks ago, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state dashboard counts the number of patients hospitalized at the end of the day but the CDC counts the admissions. Reading Hospital discharged about two dozen COVID patients, according to the Friday update of the Tower Health system dashboard.

The pandemic highs for Berks is 247 patients and for the state nearly 6,400. The pattern has been more cases means more hospitalizations, which is followed by more deaths.

The 576 is technically second to 1,465 cases from Jan. 31, which was a data dump of backlogged positives and it’s unclear how many that day were actually the result of daily testing.

Deaths

The state pandemic dashboard on Saturday recorded two COVID deaths of Berks residents, and the pandemic total increased to 1,233.

The state records deaths of Berks residents wherever they occur. The state provides no details. The count goes up when the paperwork reaches the records office.

Overall, Pennsylvania saw 156 COVID deaths, and the pandemic total increased to 34,571.

The number of COVID deaths in Pennsylvania in the past week is about 50% higher than three weeks ago.

The Berks coroner’s office has been reporting deaths within the county in real time on Tuesdays and Fridays. Some of the deaths are of residents who don’t live in Berks and the state would count those deaths in the counties of residence.

Vaccinations

The drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Bern Township is open through Dec. 22. The hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The site is in the parking lot of Direct Link Technologies, 2561 Bernville Road, just north of Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township. It is accessed via Van Reed Road.

The vaccinations portion of the state dashboard was not updated Saturday.

Flu update

The latest flu season continued to build, with the health department saying this for the week ending Dec. 4:

• Influenza A and B are identified by laboratory testing, however influenza A is the predominant type.

• A total of 5,036 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases have been reported in 65 of the 67 counties.

• Emergency department visits associated with influenza-like illness has increased slightly and is higher than this same week last year.

• There have been two influenza-associated confirmed deaths this season, with both victims over the age of 65.