PA DOH shares COVID-19 trends in May
The Pennsylvania Department of Health provided a summary of COVID-19 trends for May, which show a large increase in total vaccinations and a jump in the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with coronavirus.
According to the DOH, a total of 111,011 new COVID-19 cases – an average of 3,581 per day – were reported in May.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 on June 1 was 1,329, two times as high as it was on May 1, when 651 Pennsylvanians were in the hospital.
There were 591 COVID-19 deaths recorded in the Pennsylvania death registry, amounting to about 19 deaths per day in May.
The DOH has switched to a monthly trends update, but provides data weekly on its COVID-19 online dashboard and vaccine dashboard.
“COVID-19 trends can vary across communities. That is why it is important to use the CDC’s community level tracker website to see the risk of COVID-19 by county and find recommendations to prevent spreading the virus,” said Department of Health Acting Secretary and Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson.
The department also provides a dashboard showing COVID-19 data for skilled nursing homes, including case counts, deaths and vaccination status for residents and staff.
In Pennsylvania, there have been 45,413 COVID-19 deaths throughout the pandemic, and 2,954,750 cases have been reported.
COVID-19 cases are rising in Washington County, where the CDC has move the county into the medium community level of transmission for COVID.
The CDC recommends Washington County residents get tested if they have symptoms. The agency also encourages wearing a mask if a person has symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Additionally, the CDC recommends wearing a mask on public transportation. For those at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and taking additional precautions.
In Washington County to date, 663 people have died from COVID-19, and 53,496 cases have been recorded.
In Fayette County, the death toll is 681 people, and 32,158 COVID cases have been reported. Greene County has seen 107 deaths, and a total of 8,713 cases. Both are in the low community level of transmission.
“We have access to the right tools to fight the spread of COVID-19, like wearing a mask and getting tested,” said Johnson. “Regardless of what community level, we know getting fully vaccinated and boosted offers the best protection against this virus.”