COVID-19 Hospitalizations Spike As PA Braces For Omicron Variant

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania has hit a nine-month high in COVID-19-related hospitalizations as the state braces for the arrival of the new omicron variant. Gov. Tom Wolf's administration is not reportedly considering any additional mitigation measures at this time, however, and officials continue to urge residents not to panic.

As of Tuesday, the average seven-day hospitalization rate in Pennsylvania was 3,276. That's up from last week's 2,860, and it marks the highest average in the state since the first week in February, before the vaccine was widely available.

The average number of daily patients on ventilators has risen from 351 to 421 over the past week as well.

While this rise is being closely monitored by health officials, leaders say residents should focus on getting vaccinated, if they haven't already.

"I don't see any need for Pennsylvania to do anything Draconian at this point,” Wolf told KDKA radio, a Pittsburgh-based station, this week, citing early pandemic mitigation measures such as limiting elective procedures at hospitals.

>>COVID Omicron Variant Prompts New Testing Sites, Lab Work In PA

The new omicron coronavirus variant, which health experts believe is likely in the United States, has prompted the Department of Health to expand lab testing for genetic sequencing around the state. Officials have also expanded free, outdoor, drive-up testing sites in several counties around the state.

“The fight against COVID-19 is not over, as highly contagious variants continue spreading,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said Monday.

The current hospitalization rate is higher than it ever was at the dawn of the pandemic, but it still remains significantly lower than at the height of the fall surge one year ago in December 2020, when the seven-day average was over 7,000.

The increase in hospitalizations began around Nov. 12, when the seven-day hospitalization rate had fallen down to close to 3,000. However, this latest increase is part of a trend that's been ongoing statewide since mid-July, when statewide COVID-19-related hospitalizations had plummeted all the way down to just 400.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab, which runs models that forecast case counts and hospitalization rates nationwide, noted before Thanksgiving that cases were likely to rise in the coming weeks. It pointed to holiday gatherings and cooler weather as reasons.

"Three of the most worrisome states in the country are Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where we project case incidence will quickly accelerate over the coming weeks," health experts with the Lab wrote in their most recent summary update before Thanksgiving. "Hospitalizations are now increasing in Indiana and Ohio, which both have below-average vaccination rates (only about 50 percent of residents), and Pennsylvania may be just a week or two behind."

No cases of the omicron variant have been found yet in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the United States. The U.S. and dozens of other countries now have bans on travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries where it's believe the variant originated.