UPDATED: 4:28 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 4,361 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday — the highest daily increase of positive cases to date.
As of Monday, there were 62 new deaths, adding to a total of more than 9,000.
Hospitalizations are up to 1,800, with nearly 400 in intensive care.
The department has seen considerable increases in cases among 19- to 24-year-olds since the summer. In April, the state said about 5% of cases in southeastern Pennsylvania were among this age group. Now, it’s 11%.
Statewide, the total number of cases stands at 238,657 since the start of the pandemic. About 13,000 of those cases are or were among health care workers.
Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health also experienced the highest increase of new COVID-19 cases thus far.
Health Commissioner Tom Farley announced an additional 879 new cases on Tuesday — the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.
Over the past week, he said the city is averaging 515 cases a day.
The city has been hitting the mark on the number of tests it wants to be doing — more than 5,500 — but the positivity rate is at its highest since June, nearly 10%.
Hospitalizations have doubled in the last two weeks. Fatalities tripled, from five a week in September to 15 a week as of last month.
Farley anticipates more.
“There are a number of groups that are doing mathematical models to project what’s going to happen with this epidemic wave, and they’re predicting that we’re going to see an increase in deaths that will be on a similar order of magnitude that we saw in the spring wave,” he said.
A bright spot: More rapid tests are on the way to the city. And, there is the promising progress of a safe, effective vaccine, though that is of limited comfort.
“Unfortunately,” Farley said, “much of the current surge in the virus will happen before the vaccine arrives.”
The city is not imposing any new restrictions — yet. Farley is calling on residents to take precautions on their own, as most of the spread is occurring in private settings.
He reiterated to the public the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding being around others as much as possible.
“There’s no question: This is a dangerous period. This is possibly the worst period of the epidemic,” he added. “Work from home if at all possible. Don’t go to the workplace. Stay away from others unless it’s necessary. Don’t get together after soccer practice. Don’t invite friends to watch football games on TV. Don’t go to brunch. Stay home as much as you can.”