This isn’t a holiday from the pandemic

Montco official: Don’t let COVID-19 ‘work overtime on Labor Day’

NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County officials said it’s important not to let the coronavirus “work overtime on Labor Day,” and to avoid a surge in virus cases like those recorded in many places nationwide after the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays.

“Unfortunately, I do expect that we will see a bit of a spike after Labor Day weekend. I just hope that people have learned from our last two summer holidays that just because it’s a holiday from work, it’s not a holiday from the coronavirus,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said this week as the late summer holiday approached.

“In fact, if people are lax in their behavior, it just increases the chances that coronavirus will get to work overtime on Labor Day,” Arkoosh added.

As of Sept. 2, the county’s total number of positive coronavirus cases had reached 10,933 since March 7, when the first two cases of the virus were identified in the county. The county’s death toll from the virus stood at 827.

Overall, officials said, residents appear to be reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the county and they hope residents’ actions over the Labor Day holiday don’t reverse that trend.

The overall 14-day positivity rate for the county, as of Aug. 28, was 3.04 percent, according to county data.

Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5 percent indicates the county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed. To keep the positivity rate below 5-percent, Arkoosh stressed residents should continue to abide by all mask wearing, handwashing and social distancing recommendations.

“As we head into the Labor Day weekend, please, please take extra precautions to stay safe. We continue to have 40 to 45 new cases every single day, which means there is still plenty of virus circulating in our community,” Arkoosh said. “We seem to be in pretty much a steady state at this point but all of us would like to see those daily case numbers get a little bit lower than they are now.

“I really want to urge people to follow all the guidance and keep those masks on, keep that social distancing and be very, very careful at any social gatherings and do your best to not bring this virus back to our community,” added Arkoosh, who as a physician

“In fact, if people are lax in their behavior, it just increases the chances that coronavirus will get to work overtime on Labor Day.” — Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh

has been at the center of the county’s efforts to combat coronavirus and provide citizens with the latest information regarding the outbreak.

County officials are closely monitoring data that indicates positive COVID-19 cases have continued to increase among younger individuals during the last several weeks.

“This is very consistent with what we’ve been hearing about both in the Commonwealth and nationally. People from 30 years and younger are being increasingly impacted by this disease,” said Arkoosh, a graduate of University of Nebraska College of Medicine who also has a master’s degree in public health from

the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

According to the data, those aged 25 to 34 represented 12.74 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the county on May 1 and increased to 13.77 percent of all cases on July 29. On Aug. 12, that age bracket accounted for 13.79 percent of all cases in the county and increased to 13.84 percent on Sept. 2, according to county data.

Those aged 20 to 24 accounted for 4.6 percent of all COVID-19 cases on May 1 and jumped to 6.75 percent of all cases on July 29. On Aug. 12, that age bracket accounted for 7.26 percent of all cases and on Sept. 2 accounted for 8.0 percent of all cases, according to the data.

Comparatively, those aged 55 to 59 accounted for 8.5 percent of all COVID-19 cases on May 1 but decreased to 7.14 percent of the

cases by Sept. 2. Those aged 60 to 64 accounted for 7.89 percent of all positive cases on May 1 but decreased to 6.72 percent by Sept. 2.

“This just continues to serve as a reminder that nobody is immune to this disease and while younger individuals do not appear to be getting hospitalized as often as older individuals do, younger individuals can certainly transmit the disease to parents, grandparents or others who might be at risk of a much more serious case of COVID-19,” said Arkoosh.

“So, we need to take these numbers very seriously and continue to remind everyone how important it is to wear that mask and stay socially distant, particularly if you are attending any type of social gathering where it’s quite easy to get close to people without really even being conscious that you’re doing it,” Arkoosh added.