Daily News | Two weeks, one map, two COVID landscapes: Where Pa. and N.J. stand
Relaxed coronavirus mitigation efforts, plenty of reasons to gather this time of year, and an omicron subvariant have contributed to another rise in COVID-19 cases.Two weeks ago, CDC data calculated low levels of COVID-19 for most Pennsylvania counties. Only four counties had the harsher orange designation signalingall of the counties
surrounding Philadelphia at high risk, including those in New Jersey. What’s more, almost half of Pennsylvania has left the low-risk category. In New Jersey, only Cumberland County remains low-risk. Philadelphia was at medium-risk., BA. 2.12.1, which is highly transmissible — it’s yet to become the dominant variant in Pennsylvania.
Southern New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania hospitals are also feeling the difference in COVID stays, which reached pandemic highs during the omicron surge in January, and have steadily crept up since a low point in April.As the region heads to the unofficial start of summer, health officials say staying on top of COVID-19 vaccines and indoor masking in high-risk communities are some of the best ways to keep illness at bay.