Just 1 Bucks Co. COVID Patient On A Ventilator: Officials

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Bucks County's number of new coronavirus cases remained virtually unchanged last week, at what health officials call a low level that speaks well of the county's efforts through the pandemic so far.

The county averaged about 23 new cases per day last week, with the overall number dropping by one from the week before. The daily average rose to 29 over the past four days, according to the Bucks County Department of Health, but the number of patients hospitalized held steady at just 10.

Only one patient was in critical condition and on a ventilator, officials said.

"We’re going in the right direction," Diane Ellis-Marseglia, chairwoman of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, said during a virtual town hall meeting Monday. "We know, looking at some of the evidence from the summer camps and day care centers that have been open pretty much full-tilt since June, that things are going well and we aren’t having any major outbreaks."

During the town hall, Marseglia and other commissioners passionately defended government efforts to fight the virus in Pennsylvania after a resident called the county's COVID-19 response "fearmongering."

Since the pandemic began, Bucks County has had 7,348 residents test positive for the coronavirus, with 519 deaths. Another 6,519 people have been confirmed to have recovered.

The median age of those who have been infected in Bucks County is 51, while the median age of those who died is 84.

Of the 117 new cases reported in Bucks between Friday and Monday, five were delayed reports of cases no longer considered infectious. Household spread accounted for 45 of the cases, 17 were people infected while out of state, 12 are residents or employees of long-term care facilities, five are healthcare workers, three were infected in other workplaces and 14 were attributed to general community spread.

Another 21 people were unable to immediately complete a full interview.

Most of the remaining active cases of the virus are in Lower Bucks, according to an interactive map created by the county. Bensalem led the county on Tuesday with 33 active cases, followed by Bristol with 21, Middletown with 20 and Northampton with 18.

No municipalities north of Northampton had more than 10 active cases, according to the map.