Record number in state hospitals

The state reported 10,049 more cases of the coronavirus and 278 more deaths Wednesday as the number of people hospitalized continued to increase.

There were 6,346 people in the hospital with the virus around midday, the largest number during the pandemic.

There were 1,238 in intensive care and 740 on ventilators.

Brian Downs, a spokesman for Lehigh Valley Health Network, on Wednesday said there are more than 300 admitted patients with COVID-19 systemwide, an increase of more than 30% from about two weeks ago.

Downs said the number fluctuates.

“We have the space to care for patients, both COVID and non-COVID, throughout the health network and continue to monitor the situation closely,” Downs said in an email.

“However, we do want the community to know that the level of infections in the community continues to go up.”

Downs called it “critical” that people follow safety protocols to slow the spread of the virus.

On Tuesday, St. Luke’s University Health Network spokesman Sam Kennedy — without giving specific numbers — said the ongoing COVID-19 surge has been manageable so far.

Meanwhile, updated state data Wednesday showed a 33.3% increase in the number of COVID-19 admissions at hospitals in the northeast region — which includes the Lehigh Valley — in the preceding 48 hours.

Changes in COVID-19 admission at a region’s hospitals is one of three metrics used by the state to measure stress placed on hospital systems by the pandemic. The other two are anticipated staffing shortages and bed availability.

As of Wednesday, none of the three metrics had reached the state’s crisis thresholds in the northeast region.

If two of three metrics in a region hit those thresholds, hospitals will be ordered to reduce elective procedures, according to the state.

The newly reported cases Wednesday included 316 in Lehigh County and 333 in Northampton County. The statewide total stands at 519,369.

The newly reported deaths include five in Lehigh and seven in Northampton. The total since the start of the pandemic is 13,168.

Of those, 7,559 — or about 57.4% — have been of residents of long-term care facilities.