Alanna Gillis

Opinion Editor

amg7393@psu.edu

The Erie County Department of Health created a free COVID-19 testing site at the Bayfront Convention Center on Monday January 10, and hundreds of people came out to be tested. Interim director of the Erie County Department of Health, Erin Mrenak, did not think it would end there: 

“I think we will break the record we saw last week of 600 people.” 

She reported that people were coming to be tested for many different reasons, most commonly people exhibiting symptoms or who needed a negative test to return to school. However, people traveling, people with confirmed cases in their family, and people who just wanted to know also made up the line. 

The County reported around 4,259 new cases within the first week of January, and reports an average of 608 new cases each week using previous data. 18% of all COVID cases in the County are found in people aged 20-29. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the average number of COVID related hospitalizations in PA per week is 109.7. 

Much like it is doing everywhere, COVID-19’s presence in Erie is on the rise. The Erie County Department of Health reported the highest number of new cases since the pandemic started, 922, on Sunday January 9. 

“Even though we saw this kind of increase in other parts of the country, it’s surprising how quickly cases went up here,” said Mrenak. “And I don’t believe we are at our peak yet.”