College Students Cause Spike In Bucks Co. COVID Cases

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — College students and social gatherings led to a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases in Bucks County last week, even as the number of people hospitalized with the virus dropped to just three.

The 244 new cases reported in Bucks County last week led to an average of 35 cases per day. That's up from an average of 23 cases per day the week before.

Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health, attributed much of the increase to college students coming home sick and social gatherings.

"College students, their friends and related family member cases have caused our numbers to go up somewhat over the past week or so," Damsker said. "The infections weren’t from classroom exposures, but from the social gatherings on and off campus. Friends and family members can and do have COVID, so take the additional precautions even with familiar people."

If students who attend college elsewhere get sick and come home, their numbers are added to Bucks County's total, Damsker said. If they attend college outside the county and stay there while recovering, they are not included in local numbers.

One new death in Bucks County was attributed to the coronavirus over the past few days — a 91-year-old woman who lived in a nursing home and had underlying health conditions.

Despite the spike in new cases, hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Bucks County continued to drop to months-long lows last week. On Monday, just three people were hospitalized with the virus in Bucks County.

Of those, two were in critical condition and on ventilators.

That's the county's lowest number of coronavirus hospitalizations since March 16, Damsker said.

"Our hospitalizations have continued to fall to almost zero," he said. "While we must continue to practice good hygiene, wear our masks and be additionally cautious around our vulnerable populations, people should be very optimistic about where we are right now."

Damsker noted that most Bucks County hospitals have no COVID-19 patients now and almost all of the county's current cases are "very mild."

"That is by far the most important metric in Bucks right now, regardless of some who prefer to focus solely on case counts," Damsker said.

Of Bucks County's 132 new cases from Friday through Monday, six were delayed reports no longer considered infectious. More than half – 69 cases – were the result of infections spread among members of the same households.

Fifteen were attributed to community spread, 11 were infected out of state, four are residents of long-term care facilities, three are healthcare workers, three were infected at other workplaces and 27 were not immediately able to complete a full interview.

Since the pandemic began, Bucks County has had 7,591 residents test positive for COVID-19 and 522 deaths attributed to the virus.

Of those who died, 413 were residents of long-term care facilities. The median age of those who have been infected in Bucks County is 51, while the median age of death is 84.