COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to spike in the Philadelphia region

With the start of winter just days away, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in the Philadelphia region — though the numbers remain lower than during past winters.

Cases and hospitalizations continue to trend upward nationwide, and the average number of daily deaths has increased sharply in the last two weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an average of 451 COVID-related deaths a day, a 71% increase from two weeks earlier. The current rate is comparable to the death rate in mid-September.

However, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all remain lower than they were at this time in 2020 and 2021. Compared with today, almost three times as many people were dying of COVID on average a day last December.

New cases are likely being undercounted, though. More people are using home tests, which are rarely reported to public health agencies, or not testing at all.

Pennsylvania is facing its highest number of COVID-related hospitalizations since early March, when the omicron wave of last winter ebbed. The state is now reporting an average of 20 deaths a day, roughly the same as this summer’s numbers, though a rise in deaths typically lags a rise in hospitalizations.

New Jersey is also seeing more daily hospitalizations than at any time since mid-February, and deaths are trending upward. On Wednesday, the state reported a daily average of 13 deaths from COVID, a number the state hasn’t reached since June 12. However, Gov. Phil Murphy said in a news conference Monday that he didn’t plan to bring back any pandemic safety restrictions “unless something dramatically changes.”

“People should use their common sense,” he said.

Unvaccinated people are being hospitalized six times as often as vaccinated people, Murphy said.

Philadelphia’s hospitalizations have also been trending upward, with rates now comparable to those at the beginning of August. Death rates remain low, with the city averaging fewer than two deaths a day since April.

The city is not considering reinstating a mask mandate, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, though it is recommending people mask in indoor public spaces and stay home if they’re sick. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, also recommended last week that people wear masks indoors and on public transportation.

“Philadelphia has been very, very good at masking during the pandemic, especially when things get bad,” James Garrow, a health department spokesperson, said Thursday. “We’re confident that they don’t need to be forced to do it unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

» READ MORE: Visit our COVID tracker to see more data

Here’s a look at this week’s COVID numbers:

Daily average cases: 1,977

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +29%

Daily average hospitalizations: 1,854

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +10%

Total deaths: 48,662

Daily average cases: 220

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +33%

Daily average hospitalizations: 369

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +6%

Total deaths: 5,405 (as of Dec. 11)

Daily average cases: 2,531

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +36%

Daily average hospitalizations: 1,358

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +20%

Total deaths: 35,310

Data Sources: New York Times COVID data tracker; New Jersey and Pennsylvania Departments of Health. Numbers are updated as of Wednesday, Dec. 14.