New Coronavirus Cases On The Rise In Bucks Co.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — New cases of the coronavirus have been on the rise in Bucks County over the past few days, as the county's total case number passed 6,000.

Bucks County reported 147 new cases of COVID-19 over the past four days — an average of 37 new cases per day.

While 43 of those cases were delayed reports of old infections, that's still a significant increase over what Bucks was reporting a month ago, when daily case numbers were typically in the upper teens or low 20s.

County health officials say out-of-state exposures and household spread remain key factors, with community spread remaining low. And only two people were reported to be in hospitals and on ventilators due to coronavirus on Monday — Bucks County's lowest number since March.

"We’ve had some additional cases from summer travel and Fourth of July parties," said Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health. "I think the combination of being in the 'green' phase and the nice summer weather lowers people’s guard down a bit. It is not unexpected to have a few more cases at this point."

Of the 147 infections reported over the past four days, 49 were the result of household contacts. Twenty-seven resulted from out-of-state infections, 20 were attributed to pure community spread, eight are residents or staff of long-term care facilities, six are healthcare workers, four were infected at other workplaces, two are jail inmates and 31 were unable to be interviewed immediately.

One new death also was reported over the past four days — an 80-year-old man with underlying health conditions who lived in a long-term care facility. It was just the second new death in Bucks County from COVID-19 reported in July.

Bucks County now has had 6,039 residents test positive for the coronavirus. A total of 512 deaths have been attributed to the virus. Of those, 409 were residents of long-term care homes. Of the total cases, 4,369 have been confirmed to have recovered.

A total of 35 people in Bucks County remained hospitalized as of Monday.