COVID-19 Cases Surge In Bucks Co., Overwhelming Tracing Efforts

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The coronavirus pandemic continued to worsen in Bucks County last week, with nearly 300 new cases reported every day and deaths and hospitalizations on the rise.

The 2,074 new COVID-19 cases reported in the county, an average of 296 per day, was a new record and more than four times the rate the county was seeing a month ago, according to the Bucks County Department of Health.

Meanwhile, 17 new coronavirus deaths were reported in the county from Nov. 15-21 — up from 12 the previous week — and 46 people were hospitalized with the virus. The death toll for the first three weeks of November sits at 32, which is five times the deaths reported in all of October.

Of those hospitalized, just three were in critical condition and on ventilators at the end of last week. The 46 hospitalized was more than double the 22 people in Bucks County hospitals with the coronavirus at the end of the previous week.

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The surge in cases has outpaced the county health department's ability to track all of them. Dr. David Damsker, the director of the Bucks County Department of Health, announced late Monday that the county will shift to using the Pennsylvania Department of Health's case-reporting system.

That, he said, will reduce some of the county's overall contact tracing and allow workers to focus on high-priority cases such as those involving the elderly and school-age children.

During the worst of the pandemic's first phase in the spring, Bucks was the only county in Pennsylvania that maintained an inclusive contact tracing program, hunting down the source of every reported infection.

Now, Damsker said, the county will focus on tracing cases involving patients over 60 years old, particularly those in nursing homes and other care facilities, and school-age children, so the county can keep better tabs on school safety.

"We are now moving to a more targeted response phase, focusing our efforts on schools and the elderly – areas where we can make the most difference in the community," Damsker said.

Shifting to the use of state numbers will mean Bucks County's figures will jump somewhat, Damsker said. Until now, he said, county workers have been able to remove duplicate cases, patients found to not be Bucks County residents and laboratory errors.

He said death numbers also will be higher for similar reasons.

Of the 17 deaths reported last week, nine were residents of long-term care facilities. Six were in their 90s, two were in their 80s, five were in their 70s, two in their 60s and two – a man and a woman – were age 33.

Among the new cases reported were 110 school-age children and nine school staff members. Of the students, only 13 are believed to have been attending school in person on a daily basis, Damsker said. About half were enrolled in hybrid learning and about one-third were taking classes virtually.

Of the infected staff members, four were working in schools on a daily basis.

The latest Bucks County figures come as Pennsylvania and much of the nation are in the midst of a fall surge of the coronavirus. On Monday, Pennsylvania officials announced several new rules and restrictions intended to slow the rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak in the state.

The rules include a one-night ban of alcohol sales on Thanksgiving Eve, as well as a stay-at-home advisory. Health officials fear extended family gatherings on Thanksgiving could further boost the spread of the virus.

The new restrictions also include further limits on gathering sizes, as well as new a procedure for school districts that are providing in-person instruction.