Pennsylvania officials continue to express concern with virus infection and transmission levels in the state as well as the capacity of health care providers.
Governor Tom Wolf spoke Monday afternoon about the danger of stressing limited medical resources. “If we don’t slow the spread of the virus right now, the reality is that COVID-19 will overwhelm our hospitals and overwhelm our health systems,” Wolf said.
The total number of COVID cases in the state has doubled over the past six weeks from 200,000 to over 400,000. Every county in the state has a percent positivity rate above 5% which is the rate of concern. PA Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine talks about the conditions hospitals are dealing with across the state.
“Many hospitals across the state either have few ICU beds, or in some cases no ICU beds,” Levine said. “This is a significant challenge for our health systems in Pennsylvania and one that we have actually never faced before.”
While the state Department of Health and various health systems are working together to share resources, anticipated staffing shortages have no easy solution. Residents are asked to continue taking precautions and avoid unnecessary contact with anyone.
