New Coronavirus Cases In Bucks Co. Doubled In Past 2 Weeks

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The number of new coronavirus cases reported in Bucks County has doubled in the past two weeks, with the county now reporting its biggest numbers since early May.

The Bucks County Department of Health reported 465 new infections from Oct. 25-31, an average of about 66 cases per day. That's a 22 percent spike over the previous week and the most cases Bucks has seen since the first week of May, when new infections averaged 85 per day.

That week in May was also one of the pandemic's deadliest in Bucks County, with 71 deaths reported and 195 people hospitalized with COVID-19. In contrast, last week, one new death was reported in Bucks County and 12 were hospitalized as of Saturday, with two in critical condition and on ventilators.

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"Even though our cases have doubled over the past two weeks, the overall numbers of seriously ill people have remained pretty much the same. That’s an excellent sign," said Dr. David Damsker, director of the health department. "Another promising indicator is that, despite seeing some cases in teachers and students, reopened schools themselves are not contributing to levels of community spread."

The spike in Bucks County came as Pennsylvania, and much of the nation, was in the midst of a full-on fall coronavirus surge. Friday was a new national record, with 99,321 new cases and more than 1,000 deaths reported.

Pennsylvania exceeded 2,500 new cases for the first time on Friday and its seven-day average of nearly 2,100 cases also was a record high. It was more than double last month's daily average.

Experts say improved techniques for treating patients are a main reason for the lower rate of serious cases and deaths recently. They include the use of certain steroids and antiviral drugs. In Pennsylvania, the death rate in October was 1.4 deaths per 100 cases, compared to 12.2 in May.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the state is in a "much better place than we were in the spring" and that officials are not considering dramatic shutdown measures like those used early in the pandemic.

Of the 465 new coronavirus cases reported in Bucks County last week, 200 were a result of household spread, according to contact tracing. Another 104 were attributed to pure community spread, where the patient isn't sure how they got the virus, 37 happened in the workplace and 28 came from out-of-state travel.

Eighteen are healthcare workers, 15 are residents or staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and 27 were delayed reports of old cases no longer considered infectious. Another 63 people were unable to be reached and fully interviewed.

Since the pandemic began, Bucks County had 9,807 residents test positive for the coronavirus, as of Saturday. A total of 536 people had died from the virus, while 8,620 had been confirmed to have recovered.

The median age of those who have gotten sick in Bucks has been 48, while the median age of death has been 84.