Hang onto those safety bars, Bucks County residents, the local pandemic roller coaster is lurching upward once again. After months of reductions in countywide case numbers, confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses here returned to “very high” levels. The disappointingly dangerous news is from The New York Times.

Late April saw an average of 97 new daily cases reported in the county, a 93 percent increase compared to the middle of the month. Since the start of the pandemic, at least one in six residents have been infected by COVID-19, totaling 124,730 reported cases.

January 2022 remains the month with the highest average number of cases in Bucks County.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased in the past two weeks by 29 percent. Deaths have remained at about the same levels, with an average of less than one daily fatality over the period.

Meanwhile, as of April 28, the number of fully vaccinated people in the county is at 73 percent. This includes 77 percent of fully vaccinated residents aged 5 and up and 95 percent of fully vaccinated people aged 65 and up.

Read more about the COVID-19 situation at The New York Times.