Pennsylvania and the majority of the nation are seeing a resurgence in coronavirus cases, but that is not the case in Philadelphia.
The once considered “likely epicenter” of the virus is continuing to see a promising stable rate of confirmed cases over the past week, with daily case counts averaging at around 110 per day. This is relatively similar to the daily case counts from the week prior.
91 news cases were identified over the last 24 hours on Tuesday, with zero new deaths. Over the week, only four deaths were reported. There is likely a delay in reporting, but compared to the hundreds of deaths reported per week in mid-April, these low numbers are significant.
“No death is acceptable,” Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health Dr. Thomas Farley said. “Every death is a tragedy, but the fact that we are getting closer to zero is a sign that we’ve made, really, a lot of progress.”
What is not stable, though, is the frequently-changing age distribution of cases. Over the last four weeks, cases have been rising in people under the age of 40, have been stable in people aged 40 to 49 and have been decreasing in people over 50.
“People over 50 are the ones who are most likely to be severely ill, so it is good that the case counts in these are decreasing, but we’re still concerned that the younger people who not themselves get really ill could pass it on to older people,” Farley said.
Although there is not currently an increase in daily case and death counts, he urges the city’s citizens and to continue to follow reopening guidelines and practice social distancing to avoid the same fate as both far and nearby regions including Southwest Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Be the first to comment