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COVID cases, hospitalizations rise

By Karen Mansfield newsroom@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania are rising sharply after the holiday season, with the number of patients hospitalized with COVID 22.6% higher on Jan. 2 than the week before.

“The post-holiday surge certainly started much more quickly than we expected,” said Donna Ramusivich, Senior Vice President at Penn Highlands Mon Valley. “We anticipated cases would increase after the new year, but, fueled by omicron, it started between Christmas and New Year’s.”

The hospital’s priority amid the substantial volume of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations – and longer waits in the emergency room – is to “preserve the services of the emergency department for critically ill patients” who are experiencing life-threatening illness or injuries.

“It’s important that the emergency department be available for those persons who really do need it,” said Ramusivich.

Penn Highlands Mon Valley is asking that people contact their primary care physicians for minor health issues and tests.

Across the state, the percentage of available adult ICU beds in the state fell to 16%, while available pediatric ICU beds dropped to 11%.

At WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, 42 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19; 30 of those patients have been in the hospital for more than 10 days.

“This current surge is putting a significant strain on the hospital, but the staff is stepping up to handle the higher volume,” said Uniontown Hospital CEO Dr. David Hess. “The ER is certainly getting hit. The issue we’re seeing is, we have Delta patients coming in whose lungs are ravaged and they’re staying longer, and then here come the Omicron patients. That’s putting a strain on staff. But they are heroes, stepping up every day. They’re tired and worn out, but they’re holding up and they want to be here for the community.”

In Fayette County, 139 new COVID cases were reported on Thursday, with two more deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the county to 544.

Hess said he is hopeful about early indications that Omicron may cause less serious illness than other forms of the virus.

“We want to get to the other side of this,” he said.

Greene County saw its highest number of new cases, 71, reported on Wednesday, with 42 more on Thursday, and the death toll county-wide is 82.

In Washington County, 88 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 26 of those in ICU.

The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in the county rose to 530, with nine new deaths reported Thursday by the state Department of Health. There were 725 new COVID cases, according to the DOH.

Penn Highlands Healthcare reported it is treating 85 COVID patients among its seven system hospitals, which includes Mon Valley. Washington Health System Washington Hospital currently is treating 33 COVID patients – similar to the number of COVID patients the hospital treated in December 2020, before COVID-19 vaccines were available.

Two COVID patients also are currently admitted at WHS Greene.

Meanwhile, in a precautionary move, UMPC Children’s Hospital opened a second unit for COVID-19 patients, in case it is needed.

In a statement, the hospital said, “UPMC Children’s Hospital has opened up a second unit to expand care capability for COVID-19 patients at the hospital. The hospital is safe, operating normally, and ready to provide care for patients and their families.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pediatric hospitalizations nationwide are increasing. During the week that ended Sunday, an average of 672 children nationwide were admitted to hospitals every day with COVID-19, the highest number since the pandemic began and a 64% increase in the number of children hospitalized compared to the week before, the CDC said.

“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 Tuesday. “This should not cause panic, but it should be a call to immediate action. There are clear steps that every Pennsylvanian should be taking to help protect themselves and their loved ones.”

The most important, said Ramusivich, is getting vaccinated and getting a booster dose to boost protection.

“Get vaccinated. I sound like a broken record, and I know people are tired of hearing it, but get vaccinated and get a booster as soon as possible,” said Ramusivich. “Wear a face mask, social distance, and wash your hands, all of the things we’ve been doing from the beginning of the pandemic that are proven to be effective. We have to be more diligent as these more highly transmissible variants circulate.”

Ramusivich also encouraged people to avoid outings and to limit contact with others, including family members, if they’re not feeling well.

“If you’re not feeling well, don’t go to the Penguins game, don’t go to work, don’t go out to dinner, and isolate yourself from immediate family members, too,” she said. “People are tired of COVID and they don’t want it to impact their plans, so they carry on with their plans, even though they shouldn’t. Just don’t go out, don’t go into large crowds.”

The daily average number of cases in Pennsylvania over the seven-day period ending on Jan. 2 was 18,344, a pandemic record – and nearly double the daily average of just over 10,000 during the previous height, in the fall surge of 2020.

Ramusivich said Penn Highlands Healthcare, too, has seen a rise in the number of COVID deaths in the past three weeks, and that the vast majority of COVID-19 patients have not gotten vaccinated.

According to the CDC, as of Dec. 30, 74.1% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. In the past week, 269,488 vaccine doses were administered in the past week (that includes 131,793 booster doses and 12,270 pediatric doses), a 3.8% decrease in vaccines administered from the previous week, which the DOH attributed to the New Year’s holiday.

Hess, too, advised the community to get vaccinated and to get the booster shot.

He also encouraged people donate blood to help alleviate the blood shortage that is affecting hospitals in the across the state and the country.

In response to climbing COVID cases, Mon Valley Hospital also announced it has revised its visitation policy, and allows only one visitor per patient during a stay. The visitor must be the same person.

Ramusivich said the visitor policy and COVID screening procedure for people entering the hospital has upset some people, but noted, “our screening and visitation rules are in the best interest of the safety of patients and staff, so please be understanding of the restrictions.

“I get it. People are tired of this pandemic, they’re tired of the restrictions, they’re tired of wearing masks,” said Ramusivich. “But we have to, as a society, continue to do what we can to try to get this under control.”

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