No New Coronavirus Deaths In Bucks Co. Last Week

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Bucks County recorded no new deaths from the coronavirus last week, as case numbers remained steady.

A total of 241 new cases were recorded from Sept. 20-26, according to the Bucks County Department of Health. That's a daily average of about 34, which is identical to the county's infection rate from the week before.

The week ended with 14 people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Bucks County, with two of them in critical condition and on ventilators.

"We are seeing every day now that our younger and healthier populations are not getting seriously ill from this virus, which is terrific news," said health department director Dr. David Damsker. "However, we have to maintain a strong focus on limiting transmission to our senior citizens and others with high-risk medical conditions.

"Don’t go to work sick. Don’t go to a party sick. And, think about how your actions can impact others' health, even if you aren’t worried about yourself."

Over the same time period, the number of new infections in Pennsylvania dropped by about 9 percent and the rate of people who got tests turning out to be positive dipped from 3.7 percent to 3.2 percent.

Bucks County remained in a group of 47 Pennsylvania counties, including all of southeast Pennsylvania, that have what the state considers a moderate level of transmission. Two counties, Centre and Indiana, had substantial transmission levels, while the rest of the state was rated as low.

The virus spreading from one person in a household to another remained the largest cause of new infections last week, accounting for about 44 percent of Bucks County's cases. Sixteen of last week's Bucks County cases were delayed reports of old cases no longer considered infectious.

Of the 241 cases reported in Bucks County last week, 105 were traced to household contacts. Another 43 were from pure community spread and 18 were attributed to out-of-state travel. Thirteen were residents or employees of long-term care facilities, five were healthcare workers, five were infected in other workplaces and 53 did not immediately complete a full interview.

Through Saturday, 8,232 Bucks County residents had tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began and 525 deaths have been attributed to the virus. Of those, 413 were residents of long-term care facilities.

The median age of those infected in Bucks County is 50 and the median age of death has been 84.