The spring Covid-19 surge is continuing in Lancaster County, the latest data suggests, although the rate of increase has slowed.
Health professionals reported 1,114 new cases in the county this week, just eight more than the 1,006 reported in the seven days prior, according to Pennsylvania's Covid-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
That works out to an incidence rate of 204.1 per 100,000 residents, up from 184.3. The county's test positivity rate climbed from 8.8% to 9.0%.
Average Covid-19 inpatient counts showed the steepest increase. They climbed by 25% to 86.6, the dashboard says. That's about one-third lower than this year's highest counts to date. Those were recorded in early February, when average inpatient numbers inched above 120.
The numbers for Pennsylvania as a whole were flat to slightly higher: Incidence rose from 187.1 to 190.5 per 100,000; test positivity rose by 0.1 percentage point to 9.6%; and average hospitalizations climbed from 2,333.6 to 2,532.9, up 8.5%. (Changes in hospitalization rates typically lag case numbers by a few days.)
Nationwide, the Covid-19 pandemic "has turned into a patchwork of regional hotspots," reports the Washington Post. Hospitalizations have climbed above 47,000, the highest since March 4, the Post said.
Michigan is particularly hard-hit, reporting 41,754 new cases and 273 deaths this week, according to the Detroit News.
Still, PolicyLab, the research center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says there is reason to think the spring resurgence may be subsiding.
Test positivity rates are stabilizing or declining in several regions, suggesting surges there may have moved past their peaks, PolicyLab said. Meanwhile, although the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been "paused," vaccination with Moderna and Pfizer doses continues apace.
"As vaccine uptake continues to build across the country, Americans should know that they are gaining an upper hand on the pandemic and, with a little patience, the outlook for summer is brightening," PolicyLab said.
For the latest daily Covid-19 statics, visit One United Lancaster's Statistics page.
