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By the numbers: Covid-19 hospitalizations increase here, nationwide

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Lancaster County has returned to the "substantial" level of Covid-19 transmission, where it was in early March, according to the U.S. for Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

There were 383 new coronavirus cases reported over the past week, up 48% over the previous seven days, according to Pennsylvania's Covid-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. That puts incidence here at 70.2 cases per 100,000 people, up from 47.3 per 100,000.

The county's Covid-19 risk level remains low, according to the CDC's metric, which factors in local hospital capacity.

There were 18 Covid-19 inpatients in Lancaster County as of Friday, according to the state's Covid-19 data dashboard. One individual was in intensive care, but not on a ventilator.

"If cases and hospitalizations continue to increase to a higher level, masks may be recommended for everyone in indoor locations," Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health said in its weekly Covid-19 update.

There have been no local Covid-19 deaths so far in May. There were nine in April, according to the state's dashboard.

Nationally, the number of inpatients with Covid-19 has risen 20% over two weeks, to an average of 18,000, reports the New York Times. (The number includes both individuals admitted for Covid-19 and those admitted for other conditions who test positive.)

About 11% of Covid-19 inpatients were in intensive care, the Times said.

The CDC says that so far, the increase in case rates and hospitalizations hasn't led to a surge in deaths, and that the level of hospitalizations is manageable.

The U.S. strategy is based on the premise that it will remain so, thanks to new therapeutics and population immunity from vaccination and prior infection, without the need to impose new mitigation measures.

"That strategy will be put to the test in the next few weeks," the Times said.

More than 1 million Americans have died from Covid-19 to date.

Source: Pa. Dept. of Health
Source: Pa. Dept. of Health