Coronavirus May Be Peaking In Philadelphia: Health Officials

PHILADELPHIA — Health officials in Philadelphia said it appears the city is reaching the peak of the ongoing coronavirus surge.

Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole Thursday said evidence shows the city may be reaching the peak of cases and hospitalizations in this wave of the pandemic, largely fueled by the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Average new cases per day Wednesday were reported at 288, which is down from a high of 307 last week, she said.

As for hospitals, 195 patients are being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, and 24 of those are on ventilators.

The city's positive testing rate has fallen too. Bettigole said current data shows a 5 percent positivity rate, down from 7 percent on Aug. 23.

"The numbers we're seeing this week are heartening, and we hope the trend continues," she said.

As of Thursday, 833,833 Philadelphians have been full vaccinated. Additionally, 1.016 million Philadelphians have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine.

Philadelphia has a 67.1 percent full vaccination rate among adults, and 81.9 percent of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Bettigole the unvaccinated are make up a large portion of new infections.

She said people ages 20 to 34, and Black adults, young Black adults are the largest demographics being infected.