For many, if not most, the masks are off and the covid pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

But an average of 10 people are dying from covid in Pennsylvania each day, and about 1,150 residents are hospitalized with the virus, according to state health data.

The state Department of Health is continuing to monitor trends in case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, spokesman Mark O’Neill said.

A key point of emphasis has been to focus on hospitalizations, and the strain on hospitals across Pennsylvania from covid patients is currently low, he said.

“While it is true that we are in a much better place now thanks to the wide availability of vaccine and other prevention efforts, the Department of Health continues to encourage all Pennsylvanians ages 6 months and older to get vaccinated and boosted,” O’Neill said. “The department also continues to educate and inform the public about covid-19, while making resources, such as vaccines and testing, readily available to the people of Pennsylvania.”

President Joe Biden caused confusion and concern when, in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, he declared that the pandemic was over in the U.S., based on dropping infection, death and hospitalization rates, and because protective protocols have been relaxed.

Some Pittsburgh-area health professionals took issue with Biden’s assertion.

“The pandemic is not over in America,” said Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. “And neither is it over in the world because, everywhere in the world including in and especially in the U.S., we have vulnerable populations that remain at risk from covid, including right here in Pittsburgh.”

On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, outgoing presidential covid adviser, joined those walking back Biden’s assertion.

Those sharing Fauci’s more tempered take included Dr. Carol Fox, chief medical officer of Excela Health.

“While there is encouraging news regarding the number of cases, severity of disease and deaths attributable to covid, the statistics remain at levels where continued vigilance and adherence to recommended infection control and vaccine protocols are certainly warranted,” Fox said. “We still have work to do.”

According to the health department, covid cases in Pennsylvania have plateaued over the past several weeks, with 17,000 new cases over the past week or 2,400 per day. Those numbers are down from nearly 19,000 the previous week and about 20,000 a month ago.

In Allegheny County, numbers are likewise down over the past month, with the county seeing about 1,500 new cases in the past week (215 per day), down from around 2,000 the previous week and 2,500 one month ago. Covid deaths in Allegheny County are about 10 per week, with about 165 patients hospitalized.

In Westmoreland County, there have been about 500 new cases in the past week (70 per day), which is down from about 630 a week ago and 720 a month ago. Deaths are averaging about four per week, with around 30 residents hospitalized for the virus.

The risk in saying the pandemic is over, according to Lichtveld, is people lowering their guard, not masking and not getting vaccine boosters.

“We cannot make statements without providing caveats or context. Unfortunately, (Biden’s) statement might have been taken out of context,” she said. “What I’m sure the president meant is that, while we have dealt with perhaps the height of the pandemic, there are new variants and subvariants that are circulating beyond omicron.

“Any message about any pandemic should always be followed with continuing to take the public health measures that need to be in place,” she said. “Those we cannot stop doing.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)