PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania’s health secretary said the latest COVID-19 numbers are a “sobering” reminder steps need to be taken to slow the spread of the virus.
Pennsylvania Health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said 54 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties saw an increase in new cases.
“We are now seeing the highest case counts of the COVID-19 pandemic across Pennsylvania that we have seen since the beginning,” she said.
She pointed to several key indicators that are climbing significantly week to week, including the positivity rate — the percentage of tests coming back positive — which is now just shy of 7%. The goal is to keep it under 5%, but she said 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are now above that marker.
She also noted the continuing climb of hospitalizations, which jumped by about 500 last week.
While treatments are better and hospitals are more prepared, Levine said the virus is still dangerous, noting the trend from the start: a rise in cases followed a couple weeks later by a rise in hospitalizations.
“And then several weeks later, you start to see the increasing number of tragic deaths,” she said.
Related
And Levine said fewer people are cooperating with contact tracing.
For example, the percentage of people who answer whether they attended a large gathering continues to drop.
While officials were able to track outbreaks to a specific source over the past month, the current increase is “community spread."
This, she said, is one more reason why people need to be vigilant about wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart.
And Levine said there are no plans for now, but they may update their recommendations for schools. She emphasized those are just recommendations, and control remains in the hands of local decision-makers.