COVID-19 cases continue to drop in York County, following worldwide trend

York County continues to see a decline in new COVID-19 cases, reflecting a global trend as the omicron wave recedes.

The county recorded 246 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health. Since the pandemic began, the county's seen 114,429 cases and 1,375 deaths.

Hospitalizations have also begun to drop across York County. According to the state Department of Health, county hospitals had a  total of 152 COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday, down 14 from Tuesday. Of those patients, 28 adults were in the ICU, and 25 were on ventilators.

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As of Monday, WellSpan Health had 347 COVID-19 patients across all facilities, while York Hospital had 143 of those patients. The health system has seen COVID-19 hospitalizations drop dramatically over the last two weeks after peaking at more than 500 patients in mid-January.

Across the globe, COVID-19 cases have started to plateau, leading to many countries to ease pandemic restrictions, according to an Associated Press report. 

“Now it’s time for us to take back our everyday life,” Norwegian Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol said Tuesday. “Tonight, we scrap most measures so we can be closer to living a normal life.”

While omicron has proved to be less likely to cause severe illness than the delta variant, experts are warning people against underestimating it or letting their guard down against the possibility of new, more dangerous mutant varieties.

“We are concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines — and because of omicron’s high transmissibility and lower severity — preventing transmission is no longer possible and no longer necessary,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Gheybreysus said Tuesday. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

York County still has the second-highest daily cases per capita among its neighboring counties, at 105 daily cases per 100,000 people, according to The New York Times. Adams County is slightly higher at 106 daily cases per capita. 

However, York County is seeing a decreasing rate of new cases, at a level on par with its immediate neighbors.

• York County: 60% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• Lancaster County: 60% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• Adams County: 51% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• Cumberland County: 46% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• Dauphin County: 55% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• Philadelphia: 68% decrease in cases over the last 14 days
• New York City: 81% decrease in cases over the last 14 days

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Only about 53% of York County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the state. That figure is 75% statewide.

Across Pennsylvania, the state has recorded 2,674,471 total COVID-19 cases and 41,028 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the state Department of Health. 

Schools:  York County's 16 public school districts added 71 new cases Wednesday, bringing the total for the 2021-22 school year to 8,972.

This is the lowest amount of new cases local schools have recorded in one day since Jan. 4. Since returning from winter break, York County schools have normally logged 100 cases or more each day. 

Schools have already more than tripled the total number of cases recorded throughout all of the previous school year. With the potential for new variants on the horizon, it is impossible to say how many cases York County schools will log by the end of the school year.

You can keep track of your district's recorded cases for the 2021-2022 school year here. We will continue to update on a daily basis as numbers change.