Masks Urged As CDC Head Comes To Philadelphia For Health Conference

PHILADELPHIA — One of the nation's top doctors is warning the public of a "tripledemic" ahead of delivering a keynote address at a major health conference in Philadelphia.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control Dr. Rochelle Walensky is the keynote speaker at the Bloomberg American Health Summit in Philadelphia.

In speaking to news media before Tuesday's gathering, she urged the public to exercise caution due to the prevalence of COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Walensky recommended wearing masks in indoor situations, saying masking can help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses.

"One need not wait for CDC action in order to put a mask on," she said, according to Action News.

Pennsylvania's healthcare systems remain extremely stressed due to increased respiratory illness patients, according to numerous officials and medical professionals.

"Boarding has become its own public health emergency," reads a letter to President Joe Biden, from more than 30 medical and public health organizations. "Our nation's safety net is on the verge of breaking beyond repair; EDs (emergency departments) are gridlocked and overwhelmed with patients waiting — waiting to be seen; waiting for admission to an inpatient bed in the hospital; waiting to be transferred to psychiatric, skilled nursing, or other specialized facilities; or, waiting simply to return to their nursing home."

Per the CDC, just one county, Mercer, is listed as having "high" levels of COVID transmission, as of Tuesday.

Thirty counties — including Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester counties — have "medium" transmission levels, the CDC says.

The agency adopted the community-level metric — a metric based on hospitalizations and case rates — in late February.

The agency updates its color-coded COVID maps each Thursday, recommending masks in counties with "high" community levels.'

Below is the latest data on six key coronavirus metrics in Pennsylvania:

• newly confirmed cases up from 7,726 to 7,876;
• the incidence rate per 100,000 people increased from 59.5 to 60.6;
• the PCR positive testing rate went up from 9.2 percent to 9.9 percent;
• average daily COVID-specific hospitalizations increased from 1,079.4 to 1,157.9;
• average daily COVID patients on ventilators went from 56.7 to 66.6;
• and the percent of hospital emergency department visits due to COVID-like illnesses increased from 2.5 percent to 3.1 percent.

As of Nov. 26, Pennsylvania has had 48,948 confirmed flu cases. Of those, seven people have died, all of whom are 65 or older.

RSV, which has similar symptoms to the flu and coronavirus, can cause breathing difficulties in young children. The five week average of RSV cases in Pennsylvania is 426.333, according to CDC data.