The number of coronavirus cases across Pennsylvania surpassed 10,000 Saturday, with 1,597 new infections.
The state Health Department reported that while the case count went up by nearly 19% to 10,017 from Friday to Saturday, deaths rose by 33%, with 34 more people succumbing to COVID-19. Coronavirus deaths, at 136, for the first time outnumbered flu deaths in the state, which were at 102 at the end of March, when the state Health Department stopped updating its flu website.
In the Lehigh Valley, 342 new cases were reported. In Lehigh County, new cases more than doubled overnight, from 105 between Thursday and Friday to 220 between Friday and Saturday, a 38% increase, to 804 total. Two more people died in Lehigh County, bringing the total to seven.
In Northampton County, 122 cases were added, for a total of 588, a 26% increase. One more person died, bringing the county’s death total to 11.
“There is no evidence that the virus is slowing down,” Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, said Saturday.
“We need to be prepared for that surge over time and we need to mitigate and prevent the surge from becoming overwhelming by practicing social distancing,” she said.
Levine said she could not predict when cases would reach their peak here. The coronavirus is in 64 of the state’s 67 counties — all but Elk, Fulton and Jefferson.
The counties with the largest numbers of coronavirus cases as of Saturday were: Philadelphia with 2,610; Montgomery, 982; Lehigh, 804; Luzerne, 648; Delaware, 616; Northampton, 588; Allegheny, 552; Bucks, 488; Monroe, 484; and Lancaster, 291.
Asked whether Pennsylvania would seek personal protective equipment and more medical supplies from other states, Levine said what the state has is adequate.
“We have enough ICU beds,” she said. “We have enough ventilators. We have enough personal protective equipment for our hospitals, and we are continuing pushing out more of that equipment to hospitals as they need it.”
In the U.S., which has more cases than any other country, more than 300,000 people have tested positive and more than 8,000 people have died.
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide. Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reported 1.181 million infections Saturday and nearly 64,000 deaths. Though Pennsylvania and many other health departments in the United States don’t track people’s recoveries, Johns Hopkins said incomplete data shows about 230,000 people worldwide have recovered.
On Friday, Levine and Gov. Tom Wolf encouraged people not to leave home without covering their faces, as the coronavirus is spread through airborne droplets. They suggested making a cloth mask or wearing a bandanna or scarf. Save the N95 and surgical masks for first responders and health care workers, they said, as those items are in short supply.
“The masks are designed for people who might not have significant symptoms but might be shedding virus,” Levine said on Saturday. “My mask protects you. Your mask protects me.”
Wolf said the most important thing Pennsylvanians can do is stay away from each other. That’s why he’s ordered everyone to stay home unless they have life-sustaining business, such as grocery shopping or working in an essential industry. He closed schools indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the state Human Services Department launched a Support & Referral Helpline, 855-284-2494, available 24/7 to counsel Pennsylvanians who are having trouble getting through the COVID-19 emergency.
We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism as we continue to cover the coronavirus crisis. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.
