Fewer provinces are seeing COVID-19 spread significantly, Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday.
Across Pennsylvania, 21 of the state’s 67 counties are experiencing high levels of coronavirus transmission. For the first time in months, less than a third of the provinces in the country are seeing a significant spread, the Wolf administration said.
The state’s positive test rate for COVID-19 remained constant at 5.7% during the week from March 5 to 11, which is in line with the previous week’s percentage. This is the first time that the rate of positive tests has not dropped in about three months. The positive test rate fell for 12 consecutive weeks after peaking at 16.2% in December. Health officials said a positive test score of more than 5% is a source of concern.
Last week, the Wolf administration said there is a significant spread in 29 provinces, and there are now eight fewer provinces that carry the virus strongly. The Wolf administration uses three categories to measure COVID-19 transmission: low, moderate, and significant.
“While the number of cases is still declining, the percentage of positivity is declining and more and more Pennsylvanias are being vaccinated, we are still reporting thousands of cases a day, and that is still worrying,” Wolf said in a statement. “We are on the right track. When the weather gets hot, please wear a mask, practice social distance and wash your hands regularly as the virus still occurs in our communities. ‘
In general, the number of provinces with a high transmission of the virus has been steadily declining in recent weeks. Most of December and January were significantly distributed in each province of the state.
Referring to the decline in the new COVID-19 cases, Wolf announced Monday that it will begin easing restrictions on restaurants and other businesses from April 4th.
Restaurants will be able to move to 75% of the people for indoor meals. Gyms and entertainment venues, including theaters, malls and casinos, could also rise to 75%. The governor also said that indoor opportunities could move up to 25% of the occupation limits and outdoor opportunities could rise to 50% of capacity.
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have been declining over the past few weeks. According to the state, 1,500 people are being treated in hospitals for COVID-19, up from a peak of about 6,300 in December.
A closer look
Government officials have encouraged school officials to evaluate the extent of the community’s spread of COVID-19 to determine whether students should be in school or trained remotely. Local school leaders retain the authority to decide whether schools should hold personal classes, or with a mixture of distance education and face-to-face teaching.
Five provinces in Pennsylvania are classified as low-distribution. According to Wolf’s office, there are 41 provinces with moderate spread of the coronavirus.
Some of Pennsylvania’s most populous counties – including Allegheny and Montgomery – now see only moderate COVID-19 distribution. In the provinces of Central Pennsylvania, Cumberland, Perry and Juniata, there is a moderate transmission of the virus.
Philadelphia, the state with the state’s largest population, is still seeing great distribution. Several central provinces in Pennsylvania, including Dauphin and Lancaster, see significant shipments, according to the Wolf administration.
Low: Cameron, Forest, Fulton, Potter and Sullivan
Mild: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Clarion, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, Lucerne, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montgomery, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland en Wyoming
Substantial: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Center, Clearfield, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lyoming, Monroe, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike and Wayne, York
Vaccination of vaccines
Gov. Wolf said the state is increasing its vaccination of vaccines, which has received criticism for lagging behind other states. Wolf acknowledged that improvements could be made, but said the biggest challenge still was that demand far exceeded the available supply of vaccines. Wolf said the supply of vaccines is improving.
Last week, Wolf said that everyone in phase 1A of the distribution of vaccines should be able to make an appointment for a shot by the end of March. Those in stage 1A include health workers, adults 65 years of age and older, and younger adults with certain medical conditions or high-risk conditions, such as cancer or heart disease.
The state has begun an initiative to vaccinate teachers and other school workers. The Wolf administration has reserved the first batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines for school staff and child care workers, and Wolf hopes that most will be vaccinated by the end of the month. The Johnson & Johnson vaccines require only one dose; the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines both require two shots.
When the vaccination of the school staff is complete, Wolf said the next batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines will go to law enforcement, firefighters, grocery stores and other critical workers. Some doses of Johnson & Johnson will also be used for local mass vaccination clinics.
To date, nearly 2.5 million people have been at least partially vaccinated, and nearly 1.3 million have had their second shot and have been fully vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. These figures do not include the city of Philadelphia, which does its own vaccine distribution.
In Philadelphia, more than 378,000 had their first shot and more than 147,000 received their second dose, according to the city’s health department. Taking Philly’s data into account, the state has more than 2.8 million who have received at least a first dose, and about 1.4 million have been fully vaccinated.
Since the outbreak of the Pennsylvania pandemic, more than 970,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and more than 24,600 deaths have been linked to COVID-19. More than half of the deaths occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.
Most of those infected have relatively mild symptoms and many do not even get sick, but doctors believe the virus poses risks to everyone, especially the elderly and those with health problems.
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