Spread risk ‘ substantial’ in most of Pa.

As Berks County spent its fifth consecutive week on the state’s list of counties with a substantial risk of coronavirus community spread last week, it was joined by most of the rest of Pennsylvania.

According to a report released Monday, 59 of the state’s 67 counties faced a substantial risk of community spread of COVID- 19 for the week ending Friday.

The report is part of an online risk assessment tool created by the state Department of Education aimed at guiding school districts on how to provide instruction to students during the ongoing pandemic: in- person, virtually or a mix of the two.

It uses county- level COVID- 19 data on incidence rates and the percent positivity of diagnostic testing to group counties into one of three categories of risk of community spread: low, moderate or substantial. A county- bycounty list of ratings is released each Monday.

In recent weeks those lists have been populated more and more with counties deemed to have a substantial risk.

When the risk assessment tool was first unveiled in August, just a few weeks before the start of the school year, only one county was listed as having a substantial risk. Now, nearly 90% of counties fall into that category.

The data for last week continued a recent trend in sharp increases in the number of counties with substantial risk. The previous week saw the number for the first time top the halfway point, with 38 of 67 counties included. The week before that there were 26 counties in the category.

Following last week’s report, the state’s largest teachers union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, urged school districts in counties with substantial risk to move to fully virtual classes.

That is the recommendation by the state for schools in counties deemed to have substantial risk. But school districts are not bound to follow the state’s guidelines and have the ability to choose what mode of instruction they use regardless of the county’s risk category.

Fifteen of the 18 school dis

tricts in Berks are offering some form of in- person instruction.

Leaders of several Berks school districts have said recently that they do not have plans to move to fully virtual instruction. They argue that local data shows that, because of the many precautions being taken inside schools, COVID- 19 is not spreading within school settings.

The state’s risk assessment report reflects the coronavirus pandemic’s rapid growth in Pennsylvania over the recent weeks. The state has seen daily new case numbers soar to record highs, far outpacing the first wave of the crisis in April.

Over the past seven days, the state has added 26,215 new COVID- 19 cases, according to data from the state Department of Health. The prior week the state added 16,646 new cases.

The state’s percent positivity also rose over the past week, sitting at 9.6% compared to 6.8% the previous week.

“The significant increase in cases and percent positivity across much of the state is cause for concern,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement about the latest COVID- 19 data. “We need all Pennsylvanians to take a stand and answer the call to protect one another. We need Pennsylvanians to be united in wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing our hands and avoiding gatherings. It is only by working together that Pennsylvanians can prevent the spread of the virus.”

As numbers across the state worsen, Berks cases continue to be high.

On Monday the state reported 165 new cases in Berks. The county has a seven- day average of 153 new cases per day.

Despite those numbers, Berks has fared well compared to the rest of the state. That appears to be because things are getting worse in other areas, not that things are getting better in Berks.

State data for the week ending Thursday shows that Berks had 195 per 100,000 people. That ranks it 35th among the state’s 67 counties.

For the entire ninemonth pandemic, Berks has the sixth highest per 100,000 rate.

The numbers in Berks have led the county to be included in the state’s substantial risk of community spread for more than a month. The county started off the school year this fall in the moderate category.

But that changed for the week ending Oct. 16, when a rise in COVID- 19 cases led to the county moving into the substantial category. Berks has been in the substantial category since.

Other counties in the region are also now included in the state’s substantial risk category, including:

• Bucks County.

• Chester County.

• Delaware County.

• Lancaster County.

• Lebanon County.

• Lehigh County.

• Montgomery County.

• Schuylkill County. Statewide, five counties were deemed at moderate risk for the week ending Friday, and three were low risk.