19 More Coronavirus Deaths Reported In Bucks Co.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A day after Bucks County reported a record-high 20 deaths from the new coronavirus, another 19 deaths from the virus were reported on Thursday.

All of those who died had underlying health issues and all but two lived in long-term care facilities, according to county health officials. They were 12 women and seven men, ranging in age from 62 to 96.

"We care about every single one," said Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health. "It’s upsetting to hear about the deaths. They’re not just numbers to the county."

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Older Bucks Countians also figured prominently in the 168 new cases announced on Thursday. Of those, 102 cases were among residents of long-term care facilities and 14 were employees of those homes, some of which have begun to conduct mass testing.

Bucks County officials announced at an online news briefing that mass testing has begun at the county-owned Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home, where at least 20 of the county’s 217 COVID-related deaths have occurred.

RELATED: Social Distancing Needed For 'A Long Time': Bucks Health Director

Damsker said the county has conducted more than 11,000 coronavirus tests, with nearly 25 percent resulting in positive results. About half of those cases have been in healthcare workers, long-term care residents and long-term care workers.

Damsker called the nursing home cases unsettling, but said that they should be considered separately as officials consider reopening businesses and other public spaces in Bucks County.

"Our numbers of community cases and deaths are very low," he said. "I do think we should separate the long-term care deaths and look to the other deaths, which are very few, with regard to reopening."

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf was expected to announce plans for reopenings in parts of the state on Friday. But it was expected those announcement would be for the northwest and north-central parts of the state, where the coronavirus has been less widespread than in southeast Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, 226 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Bucks County, with 23 of them in critical condition and on ventilators. To date, 744 people have recovered and been removed from isolation.

Statistics, charts and other coronavirus-related information can be found on the county's coronavirus data portal.

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