Daily Coronavirus Briefing for Jan. 4

Department of Health: Over 17.14 million vaccinations to date in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed that on Jan. 4, there were 18,114 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide cumulative total cases to 2,119,464.

There were 30 new deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry on Jan. 1 and reported for a cumulative total of 36,968 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

There are 371,207 who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases. There are 6,055,346 individuals who have tested negative to date.

The department continues to urge Pennsylvanians to follow CDC guidance for wearing a mask where required by law, rules and regulations, including health care, local business and workplace guidance. For the protection of themselves and others, individuals who have not yet been vaccinated or are partially vaccinated, are still encouraged to wear a mask when in public. Bucks County is in an area of substantial transmission. CDC also recommends all individuals wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.

The CDC lists Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties as areas of high transmission.

Numbers by county as of January 4

• Bucks County: 95,825 cases and 1,564 deaths
• Chester County: 70,090 cases and 974 deaths
• Delaware County: 84,648 cases and 1,588 deaths
• Lehigh County: 67,438 cases and 1,054 deaths
• Montgomery County: 116,669 cases and 2,003 deaths
• Northampton County: 61,669 cases and 886 deaths
• Philadelphia: 236,358 cases and 4,271 deaths

Weekly update on COVID-19 trends

Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Health provided a weekly COVID-19 update as of Monday, Jan. 3.

“Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing a steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said. “This should not cause panic, but it should be a call to immediate action. There are clear steps that every Pennsylvanian should be taking to help protect themselves and their loved ones:

• Get vaccinated to help prevent serious illness and hospitalization,
• Get a booster dose because it is proven to substantially increase your level of protection,
• Wear a mask in public indoor spaces regardless of your vaccination status,
• Get tested if you are exposed or develop symptoms and then follow the latest isolation and quarantine guidance.

“The Wolf administration continues working to increase testing opportunities and ensure that vaccine is readily available to everyone five and older,” she added. “Meanwhile, wash your hands frequently, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces and maintain physical distance to help reduce spreading the virus over the winter months.”

Weekly Update

Pennsylvania continues to make critical strides in getting eligible residents vaccinated working closely with vaccine providers, grassroots organizations, and relevant stakeholders to ensure all Pennsylvanians have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the CDC, as of Thursday, Dec. 30, 74.1% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. This percentage reflects all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.

If you or your loved ones are not yet vaccinated, now is the time to get fully vaccinated, get boosted, and get children ages 5 – 18 vaccinated.

This week, the Department of Health analyzed the following vaccine data within its 66-county vaccine jurisdiction; Philadelphia is a separate vaccine jurisdiction:

•  269,488 vaccine doses were administered in the past week, including:
  
  •  131,793 booster doses administered in the past week.
  • 12,270 pediatric doses administered in the past week.
• 3.8% decrease in vaccines administered from previous week, largely attributed to the New Year holiday.

Here is a statewide summary of COVID-19 trends over the past 7 days Monday, Dec. 27 –Sunday, Jan. 2:

• The daily average number of cases was 18,344.
• The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, Jan. 3 was 22.6 percent higher than on Dec. 27. The percent of available adult and pediatric ICU beds in the state fell to 16% and 11%, respectively.
• Approximately 28% of all staffed adult ICU beds are COVID-19 patients.
• 32% of all ventilators statewide are in use.

The Department of Health continues to provide the public with extensive and frequently updated data on both the COVID-19 dashboard and the vaccine dashboard. Both dashboards provide an interactive experience for the user to review statewide and local-level data updated daily.

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