Virus cases and hospitalizations rise sharply in Pennsylvania, as dozens of other states see high caseloads.

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging in Pennsylvania, as state officials warn of the impact of trends seen across the country: increased travel, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants.

Pennsylvania is reporting an average of 4,922 cases a day, up from roughly 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have also climbed by about 16 percent in the past two weeks, and the state now has one of the highest per capita daily case counts in the United States. Deaths, which tend to lag behind infections by weeks, have started to increase again after plunging from the state’s high of an average of 222 in mid-January, now averaging about 37 a day.

State and national health officials are also worried about the spread of more contagious virus variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain. That variant is estimated to be about 60 percent more contagious and 67 percent more deadly than the original version.

B.1.1.7 is now the most common source of new coronavirus infections in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28 percent of Pennsylvania’s cases involve that variant, and it is spreading in a vast majority of two dozen other states with high caseloads. In Michigan, more than 57 percent of cases involve B.1.1.7; in Tennessee, the figure is over 60 percent.

New Jersey and New York, where the variant accounts for roughly 30 percent of cases, endured difficult starts to the spring, but they are starting to see case counts drop.

Although nearly all of Pennsylvania’s counties are “at a high level of risk transmission,” Alison Beam, Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary, said the state did not have plans to impose new lockdowns. She urged people to continue wearing masks, social distancing and getting vaccinated.