The COVID-19 strain continues, but Philadelphia and New Jersey officials say the peak of the Omicron surge may be near.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has suffered a worst-case surge in many parts of the country, the number of new infections has decreased slightly in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Health officials expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday that small changes could mean the tide of highly contagious Omicron variants. The waves could soon subside, but that wasn’t certain.

“From the numbers I’m looking at, we may be at their peak,” Philadelphia health commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said at a news conference on Tuesday.

However, she added a warning, stating that there are signs that a reduction in cases is possible. It also represents a slight calm of the path to a larger peak.

“It’s hard to tell if it’s a bit of a bump along the way,” she said.

Philadelphia reported an average of 2,978 new cases per day on Monday. This is a slight decrease from the 3,108 daily reports reported last week.Positive rate between those tested Is 31.5%, down from last week. According to Betigor, Christmas caused a significant number of infections, but almost two weeks after the end of 2021, there were no signs of a further significant increase in cases, and Philadelphians may have been infected. It suggests that. Be more cautious at their New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Despite nearly record hospitalizations, New Jersey has seen a slight decline in new cases and infection rates over the past four days.

“Infection rates have begun to decline,” Governor Phil Murphy said. “God is pleased, it’s the beginning of something, but I don’t know enough that we can state it.”

In some cases, it could take up to a month for a longer-term recession to occur, state officials said.According to the latest modeling, the peak can occur by February, in which case New Jersey should expect 20,000 to 30,000 cases daily for the rest of the month, said health commissioner Judy Persicily.

“Omicron is an interesting variant that jumped up and then went down as quickly, for example in South Africa,” she said. “We can only expect it to happen.”

Hospitalization and death are weeks behind new cases, as was the case throughout the pandemic. New Jersey is ready to reach 8,000 hospitalized for the virus. This can occur between the 3rd week of January and the 1st week of February. As of January 9, 6,291 people have been hospitalized in the state.

On Tuesday afternoon, Murphy extended a public health emergency order that expires on Tuesday night, allowing him to maintain a maskman date at schools and day care centers.

Health officials say that even if the Omicron wave reaches its worst and continues to surge, it is likely to be difficult in the coming weeks. Crowded hospital It’s still standard.Cases and hospitalization New jersey When Pennsylvania Soared to the maximum number of pandemics.

The number of deaths has not reached the same severe peak, but is increasing and is likely to continue to increase as the number of cases begins to decrease.Omicron seems to be causing it in general, Less serious illness It can still make people more seriously ill than the delta variant.

” read more: Some Pa.About 90% of COVID-19 patients in the most hit hospitals are unvaccinated

Not vaccinated Betty Goal continues to make up the majority of people who are hospitalized and dying.

“I continue to urge all Philadelphians who are not fully vaccinated and boosted to get injections as soon as possible,” she said.

Pennsylvania reports 7,439 hospitalizations According to the New York Times tracker, at COVID-19 as of January 9. State-wide cases and hospitalizations continue to grow, and state health officials said the state’s peak has not yet arrived.

“We expect peaks to be delayed almost sometime in early February, and in some cases depending on when peaks occur,” Health Minister Deputy Keara Klinepeter said in a statement Tuesday.

The increase in the number of cases in Delaware County compared to a week ago is second only to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which has an average of 447% more cases than last week. The hospital there has reached capacity, And some have had to divert patients who do not need urgent care to other facilities.

Approximately 1,200 people with COVID-19 are hospitalized in Philadelphia. So far, according to Betigor, city hospitals didn’t have to keep patients away.

” read more: Delco Hospital is full and emergency outpatients are closed as COVID-19 surges intensify in the Philadelphia region

Philadelphia hospitals have them Feel the pressure In some cases, it will increase rapidly, but we are managing it. According to Betigor, staff illness has caused a shortage of hospitals and testing facilities, and procedures that may be delayed have been put on hold.

Similarly, the city is calling for more employees than usual, including police and firefighters, to have COVID-19 infections.

“Currently, everyone has a staffing problem,” Betty Goal said. “We have not reached a crisis with the city.”

She said the school would continue to face roller coasters. Preemptive closure of them to prevent the spread of the virus is too damaging to children, but that means that staff calling for illness with COVID-19 will continue to close individual schools.

“You can’t run a school without staff,” she said. “I think it will be difficult in the next few weeks.”

Health officials recommend the use of more protective N95 or KN95 masks than cloth masks, so Betty Goal acknowledged how difficult it is to find the perfect mask for your child. Parents’ best bet is to try different sized masks or masks with adjustable straps. It is important that the mask fits comfortably so that the child does not readjust or pull on the mask. However, children under the age of 2 are usually not expected to hold the mask in place.

“You can’t mask your baby, which means that everyone around your baby needs to be as careful as possible,” she said.

People around the baby should be vaccinated and boosted, and parents should limit the number of people to whom the baby is exposed.

A Test site Operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in southwestern Philadelphia, this site may soon be joined by another FEMA-operated site elsewhere in the city. The city hopes to distribute home-use test kits to residents, perhaps soon next week, to prioritize the most needy.

Health commissioners tried to emphasize optimism on Tuesday, but admitted that January would be difficult. Vaccine intake is increasing, with approximately 95% of adults receiving a single dose and 78% being fully vaccinated. This is defined as two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson. About 247,000 have booster immunity and about 23% of them are fully vaccinated. The vaccination rate for adults aged 12 and over is similar to the vaccination rate for adults, with 29% of people aged 5 to 11 receiving a single vaccination.

The use of masks in the city is also increasing, and there is continued evidence that booster shots are protecting people from serious Omicron infections.

“Let’s go through January with friends, not indoor gatherings. Use double masks or KN95 masks to protect the interior,” says Betty Goal. I wish I could continue to be a little more careful. “

Staff writer Melanie Bernie contributed to this article.