Newly Reported Bucks COVID Cases Spike, But There's A Catch

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The number of newly reported coronavirus cases more than doubled from Wednesday to Thursday in Bucks County. But nearly half of those cases actually are up to two months old.

It's a technicality that's frustrating county health officials, as they and political leaders make the case that Bucks is ready to move into the more lenient green phase of Pennsylvania's coronavirus plan.

The county reported 44 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday. Of those, 20 were what are called delayed reports, in which Bucks County residents were tested in other counties and the results are just getting to county health officials now.

RELATED: When Will Bucks Co. Move To Green? Officials Weigh In

"For many of our cases that we reported today, the person was actually sick in early April," Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health, said Thursday. "It makes little sense to use today's date for any analytical purposes and it isn’t good epidemiology."

Of the 20 old cases, 16 came from one congregate living facility, Damsker said.

Damsker said Bucks has actually hit a new baseline number of cases that is in line with Gov. Tom Wolf's standards for reopening more businesses and other public spaces in the county. He said that picture is clearer when looking at the date a patient reported starting to feel COVID-19 symptoms, not the day it was officially reported by the county.

"This is a perfect example of the problems of not using the date of symptom onset for reporting," he said. Bucks County officials have pushed for the state to use that number instead.

During an online news conference Thursday, Damsker said he hoped the county could move to green "as early as next Friday, or potentially the Friday after that."

Three new deaths from the coronavirus also were reported in Bucks County on Thursday, bringing the county's death total to 484.

The victims were two women in their 90s and one in her late 40s. All lived in long-term care facilities and had underlying health conditions, officials said.

A total of 5,091 Bucks County residents have tested positive for the virus and 2,202 have been confirmed to have recovered. On Thursday, 86 Bucks County residents were hospitalized with the virus, with 16 of them in critical condition and on ventilators.

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

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