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COVID-19 cases are declining nationally but increasing in Philly, Pa., and N.J.

The number of daily average cases in Philadelphia increased by 70% over the past two weeks.

The average number of COVID-19 cases nationally has declined by 2% over the past two weeks.
The average number of COVID-19 cases nationally has declined by 2% over the past two weeks.Read moreGetty Images

COVID-19 cases in the region continued to rise this week, even as COVID’s presence nationwide showed signs of ebbing.

COVID cases increased 70% in Philadelphia over the two weeks prior to Jan. 11, rising to a daily average of 316. Cases increased in Pennsylvania statewide, by 17%, and New Jersey, by 11%, over the same time period.

The average number of COVID-19 cases nationally has declined by 2% over the past two weeks, according to the New York Times’ COVID tracker. Still, more than 550 people have been dying of COVID every day.

» READ MORE: Philly, you can still get paid COVID sick leave. Here’s how.

Public health officials continue to closely track the XBB.1.5 omicron variant that appears to be more transmissible. The variant is responsible for more than 70% of new cases in the Northeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Pennsylvania and nearby states, the CDC reported, the variant accounts for about 32% of all COVID cases. Another variant of omicron, BQ.1.1, is slightly more common in the region.

White House COVID-19 response coordinator, Ashish Jha, continued to urge people to get the bivalent booster. A study out of Israel published last week found that people who received the booster targeted at omicron variants were less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID than those who didn’t receive the bivalent vaccine.

Philadelphia administered fewer than 200,000 bivalent doses, compared to over a million Philadelphians who received the first two shots of the vaccines.

» READ MORE: Visit our COVID tracker for more data

Here’s a look at this week’s COVID numbers, as of Jan. 11, unless stated otherwise:

Pa. COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 2,176

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +17%

Daily average hospitalizations: 2,065

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +14%

Total deaths: 49,263

Philly COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 316

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +70%

Daily average hospitalizations: 352

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +13%

Total deaths: 5,443 (As of 1/9)

N.J. COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 2,880

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: +11%

Daily average hospitalizations: 1,802

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +21%

Total deaths: 35,665

Data Sources: New York Times COVID data tracker; New Jersey and Pennsylvania Departments of Health.

Staff writer Jason Laughlin contributed to this article.