At least one leg of Erie County’s tripledemic seems to be waning as COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen to near zero among county residents.
Erie hospitals had seen a surge of COVID-19, flu and RSV patients since November as all three respiratory illnesses peaked at nearly the same time, hence a so-called tripledemic. Though this most recent COVID-19 surge paled in comparison to previous spikes during the pandemic, it combined with flu and RSV to fill emergency departments with coughing, feverish patients.
Only two county residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 the week ending Jan. 27, compared to 25 patients the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. It’s the lowest weekly total since mid-July.
The county’s COVID-19 case totals also have decreased slowly over the past seven weeks, from an average of 55 a day to 16.9, the Erie County Department of Health reported.
COVID-19 deaths have also declined in the county each of the past four months:
- October — 16
- November — 13
- December — 7
- January — 3