Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A total of 19 Bucks County COVID-19 patient deaths were reported on Thursday.
The people who died were seven men and 12 women. They ranged in age from 62 to 96 and more than half were older than 80, county officials said.
Advertisements
All of the 19 victims had underlying health issues, and 17 resided in long-term care facilities.
“We care about every single one,” said Dr. David Damsker, the director of the Bucks County Health Department. “It’s upsetting to hear about the deaths. They’re not just numbers to the county.”
The county has reported 217 deaths of COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began.
Advertisements
“The deaths that we are seeing, we are not seeing them in normal community spread,” Damsker said. “While these numbers are horrific, they are very concentrated in certain facilities. Those cases aside, we are getting closer to opening society. But at the same time, we need to continue to do social distancing. That’s what we’re going to have to do on a long-term basis.”
On Thursday, the county reported 168 new positive COVID-19 cases. Officials said those cases included 102 residents of long-term care facilities and 14 that were employees of those centers.
During a virtual Thursday press conference, Damsker said that more than 11,000 coronavirus tests have been administered in Bucks County. Of those 11,000 tests, about 25 percent have been positive, with about half of those cases being long-term care residents and worker and general health care staff.
Advertisements
As of Thursday night, 226 Bucks Countians were in hospitals with COVID-19 and 23 were on ventilators in critical condition.
A total of 744 residents have recovered from COVID-19.
Report a correction via email | Editorial standards and policies
Advertisements
