HARRISBURG, Pa. — The state reported 4,711 more cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday — the latest of many recent days when numbers have reached new highs — as hospitalizations continue to surge.
The added cases bring the total to 243,368. There were 59 more deaths to bring the total to 9,145 during the pandemic.
Just Tuesday, the state reported a record 4,361 additional cases.
Meanwhile, the number of people hospitalized across the state continues to increase sharply. And state Sen. Judy Schwank, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from Berks County, thinks state government should put more emphasis on that figure.
There were 2,080 people hospitalized around midday Wednesday, and a 14-day moving average of the number hospitalized has reached 1,555.
That means the moving-average figure has doubled in the past 20 days and tripled in the last 36 days. It was 776.3 on Oct. 20 and 516.6 on Oct. 6.
Schwank said what concerns her most is that after many months, the added-case number the state uses as its marquee measuring stick for the virus doesn't seem to faze people.
"'Case?' That could be one of my staff members who is asymptomatic and is at home for two weeks," she said. "What does that mean to me and what does that mean to my community?"
The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 3,672 on Wednesday, up 51% from 2,427 a week ago.
Schwank believes the Department of Health should put more emphasis on hospitalizations. She thinks people have a more visceral connection with the term and might take the situation more seriously.
Schwank — who publicized the threat of the escalating opioid crisis in her district before it became a top state priority — could not say what the Wolf administration might do as the COVID-19 situation worsens.
"They will do whatever they think the appropriate thing is to do to protect people," she said.
In neighboring New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced that restaurants, bars and gyms will have to close at 10 p.m. across the state, and people also will be barred from hosting private gatherings with more than 10 people, The Associated Press reported.
In Pennsylvania, alcohol sales at restaurants and bars are cut off at 11 p.m. and they are allowed to operate at 50% indoor capacity as long as they self-certify their coronavirus safety measures. The state has various guidelines for indoor and outdoor gatherings, depending on the occupancy limit of the venue.
Despite the surge, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has said there are no plans for now to return to the shutdown model that brought much of the state to a halt in the spring.
Republican state Sen. David Argall of Schuylkill County called the latest COVID-19 data "very disturbing."
"The sooner a proven vaccine is available, the better for everyone," Argall said.
The state departments of Education and Health recommend school districts move to fully remote learning when there is substantial community transmission, though the decision rests with local school officials.
