County Won’t Require Vaccinated To Wear Masks As Cases Rise

Although hospitalizations remain low, COVID-19 cases in Bucks County continued to rise last week.

Bucks County had 223 new COVID-19 cases reported last week, a 45 percent rise over the week prior, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Since the start of the month, Bucks County has seen a 384 percent increase in cases, data showed.

Statewide, COVID-19 cases have been increasing since the start of the month.

No COVID-19 deaths were reported last week, but there have been six deaths of Bucks Countians due to COVID-19 in July.

The positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in Bucks County increased from 1.5 percent to 2.6 percent last week.

As of the end of last week, there were 10 Bucks Countians in the hospital with COVID-19, with one requiring a ventilator, according to state data.

“The increases here, however, have not approached the alarming, hospital-crowding spikes being seen in states where vaccination rates are especially low. New cases are significantly fewer than this time last year, the COVID death rate continues to fall, and last week ended with just eight COVID-infected patients in Bucks County’s hospitals,” county health officials said in a statement.

Bucks County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker recently said unvaccinated people were among the majority of COVID-19 cases and made up nearly all life-threatening cases.

The low number of serious COVID-19 cases in Bucks County is due to vaccinations for the novel virus, Damsker said.

“The current surge in COVID cases around the nation is among those who are unvaccinated,” the Bucks County Commissioners said in a joint statement. “While being vaccinated is not a guarantee against getting COVID, almost all of the COVID-related deaths and hospitalizations around the nation are among those not vaccinated.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will issue new guidance that people should wear masks while inside in busy spaces as the Delta variant causes hospitalizations and deaths among mostly people who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Commissioner Bob Harvie said in a statement that the county government will not be recommending masking for people who are vaccinated. 

“Bucks County has no plans to urge fully vaccinated people to wear masks,” Harvie said. “Part of the motivation for people to get vaccinated has been eliminating the need to wear masks in order to be safe from the worst effects of the coronavirus or to keep from spreading it to others.

“The best protection from getting or spreading COVID is clear: Get yourselves vaccinated and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do so as well. The vaccine works, and has been shown to be effective against all known variations of the coronavirus, including the much-discussed delta variant. Bucks County and its Health Department have been doing everything we can to get as many people vaccinated as possible.”

Bucks County has 302,674 people fully vaccinated and 37,937 partially vaccinated as of Monday. While most vaccinations in Bucks County took place in the spring, there was a slight uptick last week as there is more attention on increasing numbers, according to state data.

Free COVID-19 vaccinations for people ages 12 and up are available at county-run clinics, many pharmacies, and medical facilities. For more information, click here.

Since the pandemic began, Bucks County has reported 61,377 COVID-19 cases and 1,335 deaths.

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