Daily COVID increases now match April numbers
Daily increases in COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania are now comparable to what the commonwealth experienced at the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The department reported 1,407 new cases Monday, in addition to 1,666 reported Sunday, bringing the two-day total to 3,073 cases. The statewide total for the entire pandemic is inching closer to 200,000, with 195,695 positive cases overall.
Also, the state health department reported there were 19 additional deaths from the coronavirus reported over the last two days. There were no new deaths in Washington, Greene, Allegheny or Fayette counties.
Allegheny County reported 177 new cases and Washington County reported 21.
There were nine new cases in Fayette County and four in Greene County.
Throughout the pandemic, it has long been feared that case numbers would increase in the fall, and that seems to be happening both in the United States and around the world. New cases in the United States have averaged more than 68,000 per day over the last seven days, according to an analysis by CNN of data from Johns Hopkins University. Europe is experiencing a new surge in infections, with Britain reporting more than 150,000 new cases over the last week.
At a media briefing Monday morning, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the rate of positive tests had increased statewide over the last week, moving from 4.2% to 5%. Levine said she and other officials anticipate the number of hospitalizations will increase correspondingly, but that treatments for COVID-19 have improved since the onset of the pandemic in the spring.
She said new cases could be traced to people visiting restaurants, bars, fitness centers and salons, and attending gatherings both large and small, and that numbers are increasing across all age groups.
Levine also countered an assertion by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in a CNN interview Sunday that the virus could not be controlled. According to Levine, “We can control COVID-19,” adding, “We have to act collectively and stand united.”