Pennsylvania’s Coronavirus Numbers Have Started Climbing Again

The numbers, however, remain lower than the winter peak.

Pennsylvania health officials reported 986 new coronavirus cases Tuesday. Less than 10 days ago, the state had reported only 218 new cases.

The numbers are up almost across the board.

According to state data, more people are hospitalized (430) and in an intensive care unit (97) because of the virus than have been since late June.

While these numbers remain much lower than they were at the height of the pandemic, when 10,000 people were testing positive and more than 6,000 were hospitalized per day for several weeks, they are a noticeable increase and reverse recent trends.

The numbers have been dropping as more people have been getting vaccinated. As of Tuesday, at least 62.5% of Pennsylvania adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Health. Everyone age 12 and older is eligible to be vaccinated.

However, the number of Pennsylvanians getting vaccinated has leveled off in recent weeks. One month ago, Gov. Tom Wolf dropped the state’s mask mandate.

• At the same time, the Delta variant has arrived. The 14-day moving average of coronavirus hospitalizations had fallen from 6,105 on Christmas Day to 265.1 on July 20. It’s now up to 310.
• The 14-day moving average of new cases had fallen from a height of 10,615 on Dec. 15 to 154.7 on July 5. It’s back up to 617.

Deaths remain low compared to earlier days in the pandemic. However, an increase in deaths usually follows about seven to 14 days after an increase in cases.

For example, when Pennsylvania reached a high of new cases 12,786—on Dec. 12, the record for deaths followed on Dec. 22. When Pennsylvania first reached 1,000 cases on April 1, 2020, it took just eight days for the state to record 100 deaths in a day for the first time.