Hopeful signs continued Thursday with another official COVID-19 case count for Berks County off record highs, though hospitals in Berks and across Pennsylvania have more patients and continue to be under strain.
Berks had 867 more cases and reinfections in the daily update of the Pennsylvania Department of Health pandemic dashboard.
It was the lowest day since Jan. 4, and first day that didn’t make the 10-worst-case-days list since Dec. 27. However, the 867 is still double the worst case days before early December, with the exception of two data dumps by the state.
It was the third day below 1,000 after six days above.
The true perspective of the omicron onslaught of the past few weeks will remain difficult to quantify because health officials believe many COVID victims didn't get tested and there is no requirement to report an at-home test.
Some researchers have said this week that omicron is running out of targets and a significant decline of cases is around the corner.
Pennsylvania overall was up a few thousand cases Thursday at 26,795 from the Wednesday update but still a few thousand off the pandemic daily highs of last week that saw three days over 30,000.
For Berks, the pandemic case total reached 89,418, and for the state overall more than 2.37 million.
In Berks, another 221 people who had previously tested negative flipped to positive in the Thursday update, or about 1-in-4 of the case total. Across Pennsylvania, it was about 1-in-5.5.
Those are residents who had only tested negative before.
The negatives had not gone down before the omicron surge. Positivity rates are pushing 50%, so changes in the negative status of individuals are more noticeable.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recorded a national pandemic record 1.4 million cases for Jan. 10, was down to nearly 800,000 cases for Jan. 11. It's still among the top totals this month.
The agency's statistics are two days behind.
The seven-day case average for Berks declined Thursday to 1,101. The 14-day case average continued to rise, setting a pandemic record for the 16th straight day at 991.
The averages smooth the uneven processing of test results. The update is a composite of the previous day's statistics, in this case Wednesday.
Berks had 3.2% of the state's cases. At 429,000 residents, Berks has 3.3% of the state's residents.
Deaths
There were 10 COVID deaths of Berks residents among 150 deaths statewide in the Thursday update of the pandemic dashboard.
The Berks total reached 1,397, and the state death toll was up to 38,253. The state has reported the deaths of 77 Berks residents this month.
The Berks coroner's office is reporting weekly on Monday. The most recent report showed that 1-in-5 total deaths in Berks are due to COVID, most are directly COVID deaths with a handful listing COVID as a contributing cause.
Hospitalizations
COVID hospitalizations in Berks were at a surge record 235 in the state dashboard update, with 24 of those patients in the intensive care units in Reading Hospital or Penn State Health St. Joseph.
The Berks high-water mark for the pandemic was 247 patients on Jan. 9, 2021.
The Tower Health dashboard update for Reading Hospital included:
• 145: total patients; 93 not vaccinated and 52 vaccinated; 64% to 36%.
• 14: ICU count; 9 and 5, respectively.
• 27: discharges
• 1: death
The level of vaccinated patients has been climbing at Reading Hospital.
The Penn State Health dashboard won't be updated until Friday.
Statewide, another pandemic record was set at 7,459 COVID hospitalizations, an increase of 244 from the Wednesday update.
The number in ICUs, 1,114, was up eight from the pandemic record in the Wednesday update.
Pennsylvania now has more than 1,000 more COVID patients than at the height of the winter surge a year ago.
Penn State Health
Penn State Health has revised its patient visitation guidelines, effective Thursday, at St. Joseph hospital and all sites.
The policy changes apply to inpatient and outpatient surgery, as well as outpatient clinic and procedural areas and emergency departments, the health system said.
The new guidelines:
• Adult patients may have one family/support person per day.
• Pediatric patients may have two family/support persons per day.
The revised guidance applies to patients without COVID; visitation restrictions for patients with COVID will remain in place. Penn State Health will continue to make iPads available for communication between care teams, patients and families, the health system said.
Penn State Health will continue to screen all family/support people who wish to enter any facility, and no one with COVID symptoms will be permitted to enter, the system said.
Everyone entering the facilities will also be required to wear a medical-grade mask — such as a surgical mask — at all times and maintain social distancing guidelines. Penn State Health facilities will provide surgical masks to any patients or visitors who do not have one upon arrival, the system said.
COVID In Berks
867: new cases and reinfections
89,418: pandemic total
991: 14-day average
1,397: pandemic deaths, state
1,295: pandemic deaths, coroner
235: hospitalized
24: ICU count
239,320: fully vaccinated (CDC)
Worst case days
1,465: Jan. 31, 2021; dump of backlogged cases.
1,319: Jan 9, 2022
1,253: Jan 10, 2022
1,211: Jan. 8, 2022
1,178: Jan. 5, 2022
1,143: Jan. 7, 2022
1,023: Jan. 6, 2022
980: Jan. 12, 2022
935: Jan. 1, 2022
932: Jan. 11, 2022
