Mask List Growing Amid Summer COVID Wave In Pennsylvania: CDC

PENNSLYVANIA — As the latest wave of COVID-19 and the omicron strain BA.5 continues to wash over the East Coast this summer, masks are being recommended in certain areas. While some counties in Pennsylvania are seeing high numbers and the state's hospitalization rate is slightly climbing, the state's overall rate of cases remains largely steady.

The CDC recommends masking in counties with "high" COVID-19 community levels — a metric based on hospitalizations and case rates that the agency adopted in late February. The agency updates its color-coded COVID-19 maps each Thursday.

Four counties in Pennsylvania are in the high category, including Montour, Mercer, Washington, and Fayette. Much of the state is in the low category, while 25 counties are in the medium category.

The CDC's mask recommendations do not trigger any mandates in Pennsylvania. People may also choose to continue masking in any setting.

Meanwhile, efforts to halt the spread of the virus remain ongoing at the state level. The Department of Health has announced a new partnership with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to provide outdoor vaccine clinics.

“These vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect ourselves and now some of our youngest Pennsylvanians,” Acting Secretary of Health and Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said in a statement. “If you are not up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations, I encourage you to take advantage of the free COVID-19 vaccination being offered at these state parks." (Details)

BA.5's Emergence

The CDC estimates that BA.5 has been the Pennsylvania region's dominant strain since late June. (The CDC separates its most up-to-date variant-proportion data into regions).

BA.5 made up an estimated 72 percent of cases in the region for the week ending Saturday, according to the CDC. BA.5 is the most transmittable COVID variant to date, with greater ability than prior strains to evade prior immunity from COVID infection and vaccination.

But so far, there's no evidence that BA.5 causes more severe disease than the other omicron variants. And health experts believe the current vaccines still work well to prevent severe illness and death.

State Of COVID In PA

New hospitalizations in Pennsylvania averaged 187 over the past 7 days, according to the CDC. The overall average increased from 898 to 1,067 in that time frame, the state Department of Health said.

Over the past week, 138 Pennsylvanians have died from COVID. COVID death tolls are a lagging indicator — meaning that, during a COVID wave, they tend to rise only after spikes in cases and hospitalizations. But death tolls in the state have yet to increase during the BA.5 wave, according to the CDC.

The positivity rate sits at 15.7, only a marginal increase over 15.3 percent from the week before.