Allegheny Co COVID-19 Cases Up Significantly, Omicron To Blame

PITTSBURGH, PA — Allegheny County officials on Tuesday warned that area medical facilities are being taxed by an increasing number of COVID-19 omicron cases and that case numbers should continue to rise for weeks.

County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said that the county is seeing a rise in new infections, reinfections and breakthrough cases. She believes the numbers are actually being underreported because many people are using home tests.

According to the county COVID-19 dashboard, for the week beginning Dec. 19, there were 4,241 new cases, 352 confirmed reinfections and 573 probable cases. That's up from 3,100 new cases, 109 confirmed reinfections and 562 reinfections from the week beginning Dec. 12.

"We confirmed last week the first local COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant from tests as early as December 10," Bogen said in a release.

"We know that the omicron variant spreads efficiently and is the likely cause of the rapidly
rising case numbers. I anticipate that the number of cases will continue to rise in the coming weeks."

Bogen said the county already is seeing the impact of rising cases on the health care workforce and beyond, with many organizations, businesses and service providers experiencing absenteeism due to the virus and exposures.

"The cancellation of thousands of flights over the past few days because of the virus’ impact on the airline workforce is just one example," she said.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald reported than nearly 918,000 county residents have received
at least one vaccine shot and almost 300,000 more have received their booster.

However,“Even with a high level of vaccination, the CDC’s COVID data tracker continues to show high community transmission in Allegheny County," Fitzgerald said.

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