Bucks Co. Reports 23 COVID Deaths, Most Since May

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Thanksgiving week saw a record surge in new COVID-19 cases in Bucks County and the most deaths from the virus since the end of May, according to state health officials.

Hospitalizations from the virus, while still far from the peaks experienced during the spring, also hit levels higher than they have for several months. And experts fear that all those numbers are going to get worse in the wake of a holiday weekend during which millions of Americans traveled to celebrate.

The Bucks County Department of Health reported 23 deaths from the coronavirus between Nov. 21-28.

They were 14 women and nine men, ranging in age from 42 to 95. Six were in their 90s, five were in their 80s, three were in their 70s, six were in their 60s, two were in their 50s and one was in her 40s, county health officials said.

Six of those who died were residents of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.

As of Saturday, there were 69 Bucks County residents hospitalized with COVID-19 — the most since July 7. Four of those patients were in intensive care and on ventilators.

In Bucks County, about 65 percent of all adult medical-surgical hospital beds are in use, the state health department reported. Adult ICU beds are about 70 percent full, the state said.

In another troubling sign, officials announced that Bucks County had a 12.1 percent test positivity rate last week, meaning 12.1 percent of people who were tested had the virus. That's dramatically higher than experts wish to see and slightly higher than the statewide rate of 11.7 percent.

Bucks County averaged 345 new cases every day last week, for a total of 2,417. By comparison,the county had reported a record 2,074 new cases the week before. On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Bucks County reported a single-day record 584 cases.

Despite the surge, both here and across the nation, an estimated 6.8 million Americans passed through the nation's airports in the days before Thanksgiving and another 48 million were expected to travel by vehicle, according to a AAA estimate.

"We are hoping that many people used their common sense over the holiday weekend to stay home and reduce any gatherings," said county health department director Dr. David Damsker. "Keep in mind that given the high case numbers, anybody you know can be potentially infected. If you have symptoms, don’t go to work or school or visit family – get tested. That’s also going to help a lot at this point."

On Monday, the Bucks County Board of Commissioners announced that county offices, other than the courts, would be open to the public by appointment only, effective immediately. Much of the county's workforce also has been ordered to work from home whenever possible, county officials announced.

The new order, similar to the county's shutdown in the spring, runs through Jan. 4.

Across Pennsylvania, nearly 49,000 new coronavirus cases were reported last week. Hospitalizations statewide are at their highest since the pandemic began, with more than 4,400 Pennsylvanians being treated, according to officials.

Two months ago, there were fewer than 500 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

At least 112 Bucks County students tested positive for COVID-19 last week, 89 of whom were enrolled in virtual or hybrid instruction. Six school staff members also tested positive. The county also traced 46 new infections among residents and staff at long-term care centers.

Overwhelmed by the mounting numbers, Bucks County last week shifted to using the Pennsylvania Department of Health's case reporting system. Contact tracing in the county now is focused on high-priority cases such as school-age children and the elderly.