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Posted on 03/08/2021 11:56:42 AM PST by lightman
Pennsylvania’s rate of positive tests for COVID-19 continues to drop, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Monday.
The state’s positive test rate fell to 5.7% for the week of Feb. 26-March 4, down from 6.3% the previous week. The positive test rate has now dropped for 12 consecutive weeks after reaching a high of 16.2% in December. The declining positive test rate is an encouraging sign; health officials have said a positive test rate higher than 5% is a source of concern.
Statewide, 29 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are considered to have substantial spread of COVID-19, a slight uptick over the previous week. Last week, the Wolf administration said there was substantial spread in 26 counties. The Wolf administration uses three categories to gauge the transmission of COVID-19: low, moderate and substantial.
Still, the number of counties with high spread of the virus has dropped steadily in recent weeks and there is high spread of COVID-19 in less than half of the state’s counties. There had been substantial transmission in every county of the state through much of December and January.
“We continue to ask all Pennsylvanians to stay the course to unite against this virus,” Wolf said in a statement. “As we have passed one year since the first case of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and are rolling out our vaccination plan, practicing the proven health practices such as social distancing, washing hands frequently and wearing a mask continue to be important steps to mitigating the spread of the virus.”
The number of cases and hospitalizations have both dropped sharply over the past several weeks. Less than 1,600 people are being treated in hospitals for COVID-19, down from a high of more than 6,300 in December.
Lancaster County will open mass COVID-19 vaccination center Wednesday, begins taking appointment requests
A closer look
State officials have urged school officials to evaluate the extent of community spread of COVID-19 in determining whether students should be in school or educated remotely. Local school leaders retain the authority to decide if schools should hold classes in person, remotely or with a mix of distance learning and face-to-face instruction.
Five counties in Pennsylvania have low transmission of the virus, while 33 counties are seeking moderate spread of COVID-19, according to the Wolf administration.
Philadelphia, which had been designated as having moderate transmission last week, is again seeing substantial spread. Allegheny, the state’s second most populous county, is seeing moderate spread.
Cumberland County moved from moderate to substantial transmission over the past week, according to the Wolf administration. The county has seen a COVID-19 outbreak at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, where hundreds have been infected.
Low: Cameron, Forest, Fulton, Potter and Sullivan
Moderate: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, Lebanon, McKean, Montgomery, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland and Wyoming
Substantial: Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Pike, Union, Wayne and York
Vaccine rollout
To date, a little more than 2 million Pennsylvanians have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccines and more than 950,000 have received their second dose and are fully vaccinated, according to the state Health Department. (The state data doesn’t include Philadelphia, which is doing its own distribution.)
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines both require two shots but the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose.
Last week, Gov. Wolf said the first batch of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be reserved for teachers, school employees and child care workers. Wolf said the goal is to get teachers and school staff vaccinated by the end of the month to reopen more schools.
Unions representing state police and corrections officers have urged the Wolf administration to give them greater priority in vaccinations.
Since the emergence of the pandemic in Pennsylvania a year ago, more than 948,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and more than 24,000 deaths have been tied to COVID-19. Most of those who are infected deal with relatively mild symptoms and many don’t even get sick, but doctors say the virus poses risks to everyone, particularly seniors and those with health issues.
On Monday, Wolf said he has nominated Dr. Denise A. Johnson to serve as Pennsylvania’s physician general. Johnson will succeed Dr. Wendy Braund, who served as interim physician general after Dr. Rachel Levine left to join President Joe Biden’s administration.
Is she a real "XX" woman?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list.
Many of these counties have State Prisons or Federal Penitentiaries.
New cases are down significantly. Yet the title starts out saying, "29 Pa. Counties Have Substantial Spread".
And colleges
More reliance on open-ended definition of “cases”. No breakdown of the positive tests according to severity of symptoms, if any. Result — frantic reaction to every positive test. Some short sighted conservatives go along with this, arguing, in effect, “Shamdemic is real, but it’s the fault of the Mexican illegals and the Chinese.”
So does Florida and we’ve been open for almost a year. Our kids have been in school since August.
Pike County has substantial spread??????????? With 5 cases, 9 cases in the past day or so? Pike population is about 60,000 and there have been about 2,500 cases in a year. If you look at the state web page Pike has the second lowest rate - by color chart - on their map.
This is typical PA doublespeak from the Wolf administration. Any good news must be foreshadowed by ominous and threatening statistics. It is part of a year long propaganda war on public awareness perpetrated by political appointees of Tommy the Commie. They have been beating folks over the head with spurious numbers for so long that the numbers no longer have meaning. The upside is that people are finally beginning to wake up and recognize the bullshit for what it is.
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