Pennsylvania health officials discourage all gatherings as cases surge

State health officials urged Pennsylvania residents to avoid gatherings both large and small, as the state continues to report more covid-19 cases than it has all through the pandemic.

The state again broke its record for its highest daily case total on Thursday, adding 5,488 cases for a total of 248,856 since March. There are 2,196 individuals hospitalized with the disease, which Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said is a significant increase from just Monday. Of those hospitalized, 438 are receiving intensive care, and 207 are using a ventilator, according to the state’s data dashboard.

Pennsylvania’s positivity rate in covid-19 tests has also risen to more than 7%, Levine said, and 52 out of 67 counties are reporting test positivity greater than 5% – 12 more than last week. For context, Levine said 5% was once the “cutoff” for considering new mitigations.

But at this point, it seems unlikely that the state will implement more restrictions to public life, despite case numbers at higher levels than in the spring, when a statewide shutdown was introduced. Levine repeatedly highlighted those mitigations already in place, including a universal mask order, 50% capacity for restaurants and limits to both indoor and outdoor gatherings.

“I can’t predict the future about what mitigation orders might be necessary at some future date,” Levine said Thursday. “What we want to do is double down on the mitigation orders we do have in place to prevent the spread.”

“We want to be very strategic in terms of what we do, and we’ll be looking at that and at the right time, if necessary, we will implement,” she added.

Levine noted that Pennsylvania’s health systems “are not overwhelmed by any means at this point,” echoing regional representatives from UPMC, Allegheny Health Network and Excela, who on Wednesday said they had plans in place to share resources and prevent capacity overflow. Still, with hospitalizations on the rise, Levine said figures from state hospitals are being closely monitored and factored into mitigation decisions.

With rapidly rising case counts, Levine and Michael Huff, director of Contact Tracing and Testing, said case investigations are becoming even more of a challenge. Huff said more than 4,200,000 (36% of the population) tests have been administered in Pennsylvania through October, averaging about 35,000-50,000 test results per day. The state is continuing to have difficulty reaching covid-positive individuals to contact trace, they said, repeating concerns shared last week.

“If communities are unable to effectively isolate patients and ensure contacts can separate themselves from others, rapid spread of covid-19 is likely to increase, likely to the point that strict mitigation strategies will again be needed to contain the virus,” Huff said.

They again encouraged use of the Covid Alert PA mobile contact tracing app, and pleaded with residents to cooperate and be honest with investigators.

“You might save a life by being honest about who you were with and the places you had visited,” Levine said.