Ray of hope amid county surge
Mitigation efforts failing to stem tide
For the sixth time in seven days, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County eclipsed all of the state’s other 66 counties, county health officials said Wednesday.
They also reported information from the state that more than a third of hospitals in southwestern Pennsylvania are anticipating staffing shortages within the week. Compounding matters, the county reported a significant spike in complaints of businesses not following the state’s latest mitigation orders.
“Philadelphia put in mitigation orders a few weeks before we did, and they saw their cases at least steady out and go up at much lower rates than we did, and we
continue to climb,” Dr. Debra Bogen, director of ACHD, said at a virtual briefing to explain why Allegheny has more cases. “I think it demonstrates that the mitigation orders do work and are effective, and I hope that we’ll see the same impact here in the next couple of weeks.”
The ACHD on Wednesday reported 1,074 new cases of COVID-19 as cases continue to climb at their most significant rate this year. Philadelphia, where indoor dining shut down in November, had the second-highest case total with 807.
Allegheny County accounts for 10% of the 10,049 cases reported across Pennsylvania, which brings the statewide total to 519,369 cases to date. The state also reported an additional 278 people have died after contracting COVID19. The seven-day rolling average in the county has risen to about 1,000 cases per day, Dr. Bogen said, an increase of 150 from last week.
With the county beginning rollout of the Pfizer vaccine among health care workers, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he expects the Moderna vaccine to be distributed next week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is meeting Thursday to recommend authorization, and the agency has found the vaccine to be safe and effective.
Dr. Bogen again stressed the evidence shows the safety of the vaccines, noting they were developed quickly without cutting corners. “Continuing my record of incredible sports puns: the vaccine is our opportunity to go on offense against COVID-19.”
In addition to the new cases, Allegheny County reported 13 more people died after testing positive for the virus. Five of those people were in their 70s, four in their 80s and three in their 90s, and one of them was more than 100 years old. Seven of those were associated with long-term care facilities. The deaths occurred between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14.
Just halfway through the month, there have already been 94 deaths attributed to COVID-19. If deaths continue at a high level through the rest of December, it will be Allegheny County’s deadliest month of the pandemic, Dr. Bogen said, attributing the increase in deaths to wide community spread.
Ofthe new cases, the ACHD reports 761 are confirmed cases from 2,313 PCR tests, a molecular test that detects the virus’ genetic material, conducted from Dec. 4 to Dec. 15. The other 313 cases are probable positives. The ages of newly infected people range from 1 week to 100; the median age is 46.
Since March, there have been 43,007 total cases of COVID-19 in the county, leading to 2,669 hospitalizations and 688 people who have died after contracting the virus. According to the state data, there were 881 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Allegheny County on Wednesday, with 129 of them on a ventilator.
The southwest region of the state continues to experience a staffing crisis, according to the state, with 36% of hospitals anticipating a staffing shortage within the week. It will take at least two weeks to see the effects of Saturday’s mitigation measures on hospitalizations and staffing, Dr. Bogen said.
She also said that since the mitigation measures including a ban on indoor dining in restaurants went into effect, the health department has received 250 complaints of businesses not following orders, with a few businesses receiving many complaints.
“But enforcement can be challenging,” Dr. Bogen said. “At the health department, our inspectors do not have the authority to shut down a business and padlock its doors immediately.” Instead, if a business refuses to comply with the department’s closure orders, the department must work through the courts for further enforcement.