Pennsylvania health officials confirm alarming spike in COVID-19 cases

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- For the last 28 days straight, there have been at least 1,000 new COVID cases reported in Pennsylvania, health officials said Monday.

Over the past week, the state recorded five days with more than 2,000 new cases. There has also been a rise in hospitalizations.

According to the Action News data journalism team, there were 465 Pennsylvanians hospitalized with coronavirus on October 1.

As of November 2, there are at least 1,267 people in the state hospitalized with COVID.

During a news conference, Health Commissioner Dr. Rachel Levine stressed the urgency of everyone actively taking part in the effort to curb the pandemic.

"Everybody needs to do their part, which is why we ask people to stand united with us because if we all work together we can control COVID-19," Levine said.

Levine said the silver lining is that while the number of fatalities has increased over the past month, it is nowhere near the death rate from the early days of the pandemic when, at one point, the state confirmed more than 100 fatalities a day.

Levine says there are several reasons why.

"Our medical care is much better. Our intensive care is better. We have therapeutics such as Remdesivir and Dexamethasone and other possible therapeutics," she said.

Meanwhile, New Jersey is in a similar boat marking 16 consecutive days with more than 1,000 new cases.

That's part of the reason why Governor Phil Murphy is discouraging large family gatherings through the holiday season.

"This is the year to gather around a smaller table, so we can hope to gather around a bigger table next year," he said.