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'Strained' hospitals across PA feeling crunch of COVID due to holidays, omicron variant

Centre Daily Times - 1/17/2022

Jan. 15—COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise at a record pace across Pennsylvania due to the holiday season and the omicron variant, while cases are hitting pandemic highs in Centre County.

On Jan. 14, there were a total of 7,516 COVID-19 patients, an increase of 836 from last week's pandemic record.

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania urged Pennsylvanians to avoid the emergency room for routine COVID tests so that the state's "strained" hospitals can treat patients who need acute care.

As of Jan. 9, almost a third of hospitals in the state reached at least 90% of capacity for staffed inpatients beds, while 39% of hospitals reached at least 90% capacity for staffed ICU beds, HAP said. At 3% of hospitals in Pennsylvania, ICU and inpatient staffed beds were at or above full capacity.

"Pennsylvania hospitals are strained — with many at or approaching capacity — due (to) a combination of rising COVID-19 cases, the flu and other seasonal illnesses, a severe health care staffing shortage, and an influx of patients requiring more intensive care due to care being delayed earlier in the pandemic," the group said in a statement.

HAP called on people who are not experiencing COVID symptoms to use the public testing sites operated by the state (such as the one at the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority), pharmacies, at-home tests or privately operated testing services.

Testing also is available at urgent care centers for those with mild or moderate COVID symptoms, the hospital group said. Additionally, the Biden administration on Jan. 19 plans to launch a website, covidtests.gov, where Americans can order free at-home tests.

Daily case totals reached new highs during the past week in Pennsylvania. Three of the five highest one-day case numbers during the pandemic were reported during the week Jan. 8-14:

— No. 1: 33,650 on Jan. 8

— No. 3: 31,739 on Jan. 12

— No. 4: 29,060 on Jan. 10

The second highest case total was 32,053 on Jan. 7, while the fifth highest was 28,018 on Jan. 5.

As of Jan. 14, there have been a total of 2,401,681 cases along with 6,013,039 negative tests.

During the past week, there were 904 deaths statewide, which brings the total to 38,426.

Centre County sets pandemic records

Cases rose at a record pace during the past week in Centre County.

Four of the five highest one-day case totals were logged in the past seven days:

— No. 1: 358 cases on Jan. 8

— No. 2: 353 cases on Jan. 12

— No. 3: 332 cases on Jan. 14

— No. 4: 323 cases on Jan. 9

The fifth highest case total was 319 on Jan. 1.

The elevated case totals in January have added up to another record. Through Jan. 14, the county has already marked the highest monthly total of the pandemic, surpassing the previous record set in December by more than 350 cases.

"We've been prepared to see the daily case numbers increase following the holidays. We are in an extremely volatile environment with regards to community spread," Dr. Upendra Thaker, Mount Nittany Medical Center chief medical officer, said in a statement Jan. 14.

"We cannot stress enough the importance of mitigation measures right now. Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from serious illness related to COVID-19. If you are vaccinated, make sure to get a booster shot."

Overall, there have been 29,909 cases in Centre County — 26,928 confirmed and 2,981 probable — along with 86,061 negative tests.

Mount Nittany Medical Center was treating 44 COVID patients between ages 25 and 93 on Jan. 14. Seven patients were in the intensive care unit and on ventilators, according to the dashboard. Of the total, 32 patients were not vaccinated.

During the period Jan. 10-14, patient totals ranged from 42 to 47 and patient ages ranged from 12 to 93.

This month, Mount Nittany has seen a daily average of 45 COVID patients.

As of Jan. 15, Mount Nittany will allow patients to have one visitor at a time between 2 and 6 p.m. daily. Patients and visitors must wear masks. Mount Nittany Health also announced plans to move the Blue Course Drive testing site to the hospital parking garage starting Jan. 19. Patients must have an appointment and a doctor's order.

A closer look at county COVID cases

The state Health Department reported an additional nine county deaths, including three on Jan. 8 and another three on Jan. 14, to bring the total to 304. There have been a total of 15 deaths this month.

Between Jan. 7 and 14, there were 13 new cases at Rockview state prison and one new case at Benner state prison, according to the Department of Corrections dashboard.

During the past week, a COVID death was reported at Centre Care, and two cases were reported in Embassy of Hearthside residents, according to the dashboard.

Penn State reported Thursday that it experienced 480 new COVID cases over the previous seven days, with a positivity rate of 9%.

Its last full week of data, from Jan. 3-9, saw a 12-month high of 430 cases.

The university no longer reports its quarantine and isolation numbers on the dashboard but, due in part to the CDC halving the recommended time, Penn State has said it has plenty of space available.

Here's a breakdown of the total number of confirmed cases in each ZIP code that is partially or fully in Centre County, according to the state Health Department. The number of cases reported between Jan. 7 and 14 is in parentheses.

— 16801 (State College): 7,865 (304)

— 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 5,145 (311)

— 16803 (State College): 2,765 (205)

— 16686 (Tyrone): 2,211 (121)

— 16802 (University Park): 1,723 (29)

— 16866 (Philipsburg): 1,644 (97)

— 16870 (Port Matilda): 1,050 (74)

— 16841 (Howard): 897 (50)

— 16828 (Centre Hall): 637 (40)

— 16827 (Boalsburg): 628 (49)

— 16875 (Spring Mills): 571 (26)

— 16844 (Julian): 483 (31)

— 16666 (Osceola Mills): 462 (25)

— 16822 (Beech Creek): 439 (26)

— 16845 (Karthaus): 432 (20)

— 16853 (Milesburg): 243 (11)

— 16874 (Snow Shoe): 240 (15)

— 16877 (Warriors Mark): 234 (12)

— 16826 (Blanchard): 205 (13)

— 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 178 (11)

— 16854 (Millheim): 153 (9)

— 16820 (Aaronsburg): 152 (10)

— 16829 (Clarence): 150 (12)

— 16872 (Rebersburg): 136 (12)

— 16851 (Lemont): 131 (14)

— 16859 (Moshannon): 88 (7)

— 16832 (Coburn): 74 (6)

— 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 71 (10)

— 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 66 (9)

— 16835 (Unionville): 53 (2)

— 16860 (Munson): 52 (1)

— 16856 (Mingoville): 44 (1)

— 16852 (Madisonburg): 40 (4)

— 16882 (Woodward): 33 (1)

— 16804 (State College): 18 (1)

— 16864 (Orviston): 17 (1)

— 16805 (State College): 1-4 (The state does not provide specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy.)

Vaccination rates tick up

Every county in the U.S. — save a handful in Montana and Nebraska and one each in Idaho and Utah — was in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's high level of community transmission on Jan. 14.

In Centre County:

— 67.2% of the total population received at least one vaccine dose (last week's figure was 66.6%), with 57.5% fully vaccinated (last week: 57.3%)

— 43% of the fully vaccinated population received a booster (last week: 41%)

In Pennsylvania:

— 64.8% of the total population is fully vaccinated (last week: 64.3%)

— About 8.3 million residents are fully vaccinated

For the week Jan. 7-13, Centre County's positivity rate fell about 2 percentage points to 28.6%, while Pennsylvania's rate rose by about a point to 35.3%.

This story was originally published January 15, 20227:00 AM.

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