As families gathered for the Holiday weekend, some may be concerned about a potential spike in COVID-19 cases across the region. We spoke with area hospitals to see if they could predict whether a Easter-related COVID-19 spike may happen.
With over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases reported across the State on Monday, local Hospitals say it’s too early to predict if the Easter Holiday will cause another spike in COVID-19 cases. Monday morning, the Department of Health reported 2,718 new Coronavirus cases in the State. Even though the State is making progress in vaccinating Phase 1A/1B individuals, with Easter gatherings over the weekend, a concern for some is if we’ll see an increase in COVID-19 cases.
We asked area Hospitals if they think they’ll see an impact. In response, Mt. Nittany Health Officials said it can take up to two weeks for COVID-19 symptoms to be present, so if they do see an uptick in hospitalizations due to the Easter Holiday, it won’t be until Mid-April. As of Monday, they have 16 COVID positive inpatients at the Medical Center aged 22-90.
Conemaugh Medical Center released a statement saying: “It would be premature to draw any connections to the Easter holiday at this time. It would take a few days for new cases to develop and a few more days for cases to develop to the point of hospitalization.”
We also reached out to Penn Highlands Healthcare to hear how the Easter Holiday may impact them and haven’t heard back.
