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What is the current COVID situation in Philly?

Using data from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Pa. Department of Health, these two charts show trends in the city.

We started publishing these charts in July 2020, and revamped them with mobile-friendly versions in August 2021. We’ll refresh them several times a week, so bookmark this page and check back whenever you want an update.

Watching intensity: How serious are the infections?

The above chart shows two numbers in proportion to one another.

The purple line shows case count, i.e. how many Philadelphians tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on a given date. The blue line show hospitalizations — how many patients have been admitted with COVID symptoms.

The graph uses a rolling 14-day average, not a daily-reported number, to account for data errors or other irregularities.

Capacity and rate: How many people are getting tested, and what percent are positive?

Two different stats are shown on this chart. The green bars are total number of tests given each day, and the violet line is the percentage of tests that return positive.

The evolving relationship between these two stats makes for a useful comparison in assessing the state of the pandemic in Philly.

When COVID first arrived in the region, there were only a few test sites available and supplies were limited, which is why the early part of graph above looks the way it does: back then, only a few people were getting tested, and many of them had extreme symptoms.