The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has opened a new lab to study the genetic makeup of the virus that causes COVID-19, which will help health officials learn more about variants that are circulating in the region.

With case counts holding steady, rising hospital admissions appear to have driven the CDC’s decision to change the COVID-19 community level to “high.” However, backlogged hospitalization data from the past month accounted for more than half of the 116 admissions reported by the health department on Thursday. Last week, the county reported 46 new hospitalizations.

President Joe Biden’s new positive COVID-19 test result is what some health care professionals call a “rebound effect,” after he completed a 5-day medication called Paxlovid.

The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in Allegheny County dropped by nearly 70% this week. However, there were also more than 2,600 new cases, according to the county health department.

While case numbers dipped this week in Allegheny County, hospitalization and wastewater data indicate that transmission in on the upswing.

In a few weeks, Pennsylvanians will no longer get a ping on their phones if they were near someone who tested positive for coronavirus. The state Department of Health says its “COVID Alert” app is no longer a critical tool.

Nursing home trade associations in Pennsylvania say they have agreed to boost staffing levels as part of a deal with Gov. Tom Wolf to increase aid to an industry struggling with high turnover.

Some audiences have been slow to return for theater, dance and more.

Hospital admissions have been a more reliable barometer for the severity of COVID-19 in a region than most other available metrics.

There were some 1,700 COVID-19 cases reported in Allegheny County in the past week, ending Wednesday. This is about 70 more compared to the previous week.