HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine on Monday released a weekly status update, detailing the state’s mitigation efforts based upon the COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
Highlights included a seven-day case increase of 46,777, a state-wide percent positivity of 15.1 percent and that all 67 counties have a substantial transmission status.
The update included the following:
- Level of community transmission as a basis for the recommendations for Pre-K to 12 schools to determine instructional models.
- Data on cases among 5-18-year-olds.
- Cases that reported visiting a business among potential locations where exposures may have occurred.
- Updated travel recommendations.
The dashboard is designed to provide early warning signs of factors that affect the state’s mitigation efforts. The data available on the early warning monitoring dashboard includes week-over-week case differences, incidence rates, test percent-positivity and rates of hospitalizations, ventilations and emergency room visits tied to COVID-19. This week’s update compares the period of Dec. 18 – Dec. 25 to the previous seven days, Dec. 11 – Dec.18.
“This is the second consecutive week that we see a decrease in percent positivity, providing us with data that our efforts to reduce and mitigate the spread are working,” Wolf said.
“Although this is encouraging, we need to stay the course in our fight against COVID-19. We need Pennsylvanians to continue efforts to stay safe, stay home as much as possible, wear a mask when out of our homes and avoid gatherings with those outside our households.”
As of Thursday, Dec. 24, the state has seen a seven-day case increase of 46,777cases; the previous seven-day increase was 57,098 cases, indicating 10,321 fewer new cases across the state over the past week compared to the previous week.
The state-wide percent-positivity went down to 15.1 percent from 15.82 percent last week. Every county in the state has a concerning percent positivity above five percent. This includes 19 counties with percent positivity at or above 20 percent.
“The decisions we make over the holiday season will continue to impact the effect of COVID-19 across the state,” Levine said. “We need to continue our efforts to practice social distancing, avoid gatherings, download the COVID Alert PA app, and answer the call when a public health professional is calling you. By using all the tools in our toolbox, we can unite to stop the spread of COVID-19 across the state and further protect our health care system.”
Community Transmission
As of Friday’s data, all 67 counties were in the substantial level of community transmission, or the highest level of transmission. For the week ending Dec. 24, 67 counties were in the substantial level of transmission.
Cases Among 5-18-Year-Olds
The Department of Health is providing weekly data on the number of state-wide cases of COVID-19 among 5 to 18-year-olds.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 57,163 total cases of COVID-19 among 5- to 18-year-olds. Of that total, 12,873 occurred between Dec. 18 – Dec.25. For the week of Dec. 11 – Dec. 17, there were 5,750 cases of COVID-19 among 5 to 18-year-olds.
Cases by demographic group is available on the DOH Web site.
Business Visits
The Department of Health is providing weekly data on the number of individuals who responded to case investigators that they spent time at business establishments (restaurants, bars, gym/fitness centers, salon/barbershops) and at mass gatherings 14 days prior to the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
The department said it’s important to note that due to the recent number of cases, it’s prioritizing case investigations to prevent outbreak.
In addition to the need for people to answer the call, the significant number of cases helps contribute to the low percentages in case investigation data. All of this reinforces the need for Pennsylvanians to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Of the 63,870 confirmed cases reported between Dec. 13 and Dec. 19, 4.6 percent (2,952) provided an answer to the question as to whether they spent time at a business establishment.
Of those who did provide an answer, 0.4 percent, or 274, answered yes, they visited a business establishment 14 days prior to onset of symptoms:
- 41 percent (111) of those who said yes reported going to a restaurant;
- 34 percent (92) of those who said yes reported going to some other business establishment;
- 13 percent (35) of those who said yes reported going to a bar;
- 12 percent (32) of those who said yes reported going to a gym/fitness center; and
- 7 percent (20) of those who said yes reported going to a salon/barbershop.
Of the 63,870 confirmed cases, 4.6 percent (2,961) answered the question as to whether they attended a mass gathering or other large event. Of the 4.6 percent of cases, 7 percent (194) answered yes to whether they attended a mass gathering or other large event 14 days prior to onset of symptoms.
Compared to data reported Dec. 21, this week’s data saw an increase for people who reported going to a restaurant (41 percent versus 37 percent last week) and going to a gym (12 percent versus 10 percent last week).
The data saw a decrease for people who reported going to some other business (34 percent versus 38 percent last week), going to a bar (13 percent versus 14 percent last week) and going to a salon/barbershop (7 percent versus 8 percent last week).
The number of those who attended a mass gathering or other large event decreased to 7 percent from 8 percent last week.
The numbers above highlight business settings and mass gatherings as possible sites for transmission, according to the department.
With less than half of those asked about what types of businesses they visited or if they attended a mass gathering responding to the question, the department is reminding Pennsylvanians that it is essential that people answer the phone when case investigators call and to provide full and complete information to these clinical professionals.
Travel Recommendations
In November, the department provided an updated travel order, requiring anyone over the age of 11 who visits from another state to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test or place themselves in a travel quarantine for 14 days upon entering Pennsylvania. Travel quarantine guidance was changed to 10 days on Dec. 5 based on new CDC guidance.
This order does not apply to people who commute to and from another state for work or medical treatment, those who left the state for less than 24 hours and those complying with a court order, including child custody.
It’s important that people understand that this order is in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. A concerning number of recent cases have been linked to travel, and if people are going to travel, the department needs them to take steps to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community and that involves having either a negative test, or placing themselves in a quarantine.
Pennsylvanians should continue to take actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes wearing a mask or face covering anytime they are in public. COVID-19 has been shown to spread easily in the air and contagious carriers can be asymptomatic. Pennsylvanians are encouraged to wash their hands, social distance, avoid gatherings and download COVID Alert PA.
