Dr. Rachel Levine is seen in a file photo. Pennsylvania is ‘on the verge’ of replicating a coronavirus case trend that led to widespread community shutdowns in the spring, the state health secretary warned Monday.
                                 File photo

Dr. Rachel Levine is seen in a file photo. Pennsylvania is ‘on the verge’ of replicating a coronavirus case trend that led to widespread community shutdowns in the spring, the state health secretary warned Monday.

File photo

Pennsylvania is “on the verge” of replicating a coronavirus case trend that led to widespread community shutdowns in the spring, state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine warned Monday.

“At the start of the pandemic, we saw a higher number of cases in people ages 19-49, before it spread to those over age 65,” Levine said in a release. “This pattern is now repeating.”

The number of Pennsylvanians over the age of 65 who are positive for COVID-19 has dropped to about half of the overall cases, she said. However, the number of residents 19 to 49 testing positive now accounts for 45% of the total case count, she said.

“Our experience from the beginning of the pandemic shows that first cases rose in younger people, some of whom became very sick, required hospitalization and went on to recover,” Levine wrote. “Then COVID-19 spread quickly throughout the community, impacting congregate settings like nursing homes where most of our serious illnesses and deaths have occurred.”

Residents can immediately “stop this cycle” by wearing masks, staying at least six feet away from others not in their household and maintaining hygiene, she said.

Levine also encouraged residents to avoid exposure situations, such as making the choice to leave if they are uncomfortable with the proximity to other diners at a restaurant or shoppers not following a mandatory mask order in a store.

“And if you are getting together with people who are bragging that they are not changing their lifestyle at all and refusing to wear a mask, make the choice not to go,” she wrote.