Bucks County's COVID-19 Numbers Spike In December, Entering Holiday Season

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — COVID-19 cases and positivity rates spiked in Bucks County between Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, the Bucks County Department of Health reported.

The county reported 1,281 cases over the past week, an increase of 353 cases from the week prior. Of those cases, 189 were in children 11 and under (an increase of 45 cases) and 123 were in children between 12 and 18 (an increase of 50 cases).

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The county's percent positivity rate is now 9.5 percent according to the most recent data, an increase of 1.9 percent from the prior week.

Bucks reported nine deaths last week, with 76 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 on Dec. 3 and six of those patients on ventilators. The number of people hospitalized is down seven from the prior week.

The county wasn't able to provide a vaccination update this week, but the prior week the health department said 353,559 residents were fully vaccinated.

This news comes as a Northwest Philadelphia man tested positive for the omicron variant, the latest coronavirus variant which was detected in late November by a lab in South Africa.

The health department in Philadelphia has advised precautions which include seriously reconsidering plans for indoor holiday gatherings and activities.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health's data shows that 88 percent of reported cases in the commonwealth this year were in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people. For a full list of vaccine providers in Bucks County and locations where COVID-19 vaccines are being offered, residents can check Bucks County’s Coronavirus Testing/Vaccination Information page.

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