PA's COVID Hospitalizations Up 22 Percent Over Holiday Week

PENNSYLVANIA — As the omicron variant continues its spread around Pennsylvania and the surrounding region, hospitalizations and case numbers in the state are seeing sharp increases approaching the highest marks of the pandemic.

The number of people hospitalized increased by 22.6 percent in the week ending Jan. 2, over the pervious week. The percent of available adult ICU beds fell to 16 percent, while available pediatric ICU beds fell to 11 percent.

“Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing a steep increase in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said. “This should not cause panic, but it should be a call to immediate action."

The daily average number of cases over the seven day period ending on Jan. 2 was 18,344, which is a pandemic record for the state. The daily average was just over 10,000 during the previous height, in the fall surge of 2020.

The spike in cases was expected headed into the holiday, with gatherings and travel leading to increased contacts. The new omicron variant has also likely contributed significantly to the surge, health experts say. The Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania's PolicyLab says brighter days may be ahead.

"Our models forecast that these increases will continue but will likely peak after Christmas followed by a swift recovery," they noted in their most recent analysis.

Meanwhile, other metrics have also taken a further downward turn: there's been an increase in ventilator usage, as 32 percent of all ventilators are now taken. Staffing shortages have impacted many healthcare systems, and others are either at or beyond capacity for beds, with emergency rooms expanding into hallways and waiting rooms.

The federal government has assigned COVID-19 "strike teams" to the state to help relieve overburdened hospitals in Scranton and York. Klinepeter is hopeful these impacts will be felt statewide, but cautioned that the state needs more help.

The federal support "is aligned with these goals" of relieving hospital burden statewide, but Klinepeter added that "we know that this alone will not solve our capacity issues.