COVID-19 instances up in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware, hospitalizations rising

COVID-19 cases are spiking once again in and around Philadelphia as a subvariant of omicron continues to spread.

In Philadelphia, the case rate has risen 91% in the last two weeks, well above the national average, according to an analysis of New York Times data by The Inquirer. Philadelphia is averaging about 434 new cases a day over the past week, a number that is almost certainly an undercount due to the use of at-home tests.

Hospitalizations are also on the rise in Philadelphia. As of Wednesday, there were 142 patients in Philadelphia hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 82% over the past two weeks. The number of new COVID-19 deaths has remained low, thanks in large part to widespread vaccinations, which are effective at preventing serious illness.

Across the river, New Jersey is facing a steeper spike in COVID-19 cases, thanks to the highly transmissible BA. 2.12.1 subvariant of omicron, which has yet to become dominant in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey is now averaging nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, the highest rate of new infections since the beginning of February. Per capita, New Jersey has about double the rate of new infections than Philadelphia.

“We, public health officials, did predict there would be a spike, three weeks or a month after Easter, and that’s what we think we’re seeing right now,” Camden County health officer Paschal Nwako told the Inquirer. “We’ll see what happens toward the end of May.”

COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 42% in New Jersey over the past two weeks, but are still well below peaks reached during the initial omicron wave in the winter.

Six counties in South Jersey — Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Ocean and Gloucester — have “high” levels of COVID-19 in the community, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends wearing a mask indoors in counties with high transmission. The CDC looks at metrics that include cases, hospitalizations, and hospital capacity to determine community levels.

“This framework was designed to be predictive, anticipating where we will see further increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said during a briefing Wednesday. “And they’re meant to inform communities, local leaders, and individuals on when and what prevention measures should be implemented in their local settings.”

Delaware is averaging 514 new cases a day, COVID-19 test positivity rates have skyrocketed past 18%, and two of the state’s three counties — Kent and Sussex — have a “high” level of spread. Hospitalizations are also up in Delaware 20% over the past two weeks, though the number of patients admitted to ICUs have remained low.

The rise in new infections comes as leading health officials in the Biden administration are warning of a substantial jump in new cases and a rise in hospitalizations. The new surge is mostly being driven by omicron subvariants that are more transmissible than previous versions of the virus, matched with waning protection over time, according to Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease, and that’s the reason why as cases go up… the discrepancy or ratio between hospitalization and cases clearly is much less than it was in the delta wave,” Fauci said during Wednesday’s briefing. “However, immunity does wane, and that is why it is so important to stay up to date with vaccines and particularly boosters.”

If you test positive for COVID-19, the CDC says you should remain at home for at least five days and isolate yourself from others in your house, regardless of your vaccination status. If you must be around others, wear a well-fitting mask. You can end your isolation after five days if you no longer have symptoms or are fever-free for 24 hours and your symptoms are improving.

Consider the day you were exposed to someone with COVID-19 as day 0. The five days would begin on the day after you last had contact with the person who had COVID-19.

The CDC recommends taking continued precautions for the next five days after isolation, which includes wearing a well-fitting mask while around others and not traveling. If you were hit hard by COVID-19 and got very sick, or have a weakened immune system, the CDC recommends isolating for at least 10 days. You should also consider consulting your doctor before ending your isolation.

If you were exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and you’re fully vaccinated, you don’t need to quarantine unless you develop symptoms, which include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle aches or headache, loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea, and diarrhea.

If you’re not up to date on your vaccinations and were a close contact to someone with COVID-19, the CDC recommends quarantining for five days and wearing a mask while around others for 10 days, regardless of your symptoms.

More information is available on the CDC’s website.