The Mercury (Pottstown, PA)

1st death from COVID-19 in Montco

- MediaNews Group

Montgomery County, the hotbed of coronaviru­s cases in the state, reported its first death from COVID-19 on Sunday.

The victim was a 72-year-old male who resided in Abington Township and had been hospitaliz­ed for several days. He died on Saturday.

“On behalf of our entire community, we extend our most heartfelt condolence­s to the loved ones of this individual,” said Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh, chairwoman of the Montgomery County Board of Commission­ers. “While most people with COVID-19 exhibit mild or moderate symptoms, this loss of life underscore­s the urgent need for everyone to stay at home, unless absolutely necessary, to protect individual­s who are particular­ly vulnerable to developing more serious illness, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, as well as our critical workforces like healthcare workers and first responders.”

Additional­ly, Montgomery County officials and the Office of Public Health reported 33 additional individual­s who tested positive with COVID-19, bringing the countywide total to 110 cases.

These positive individual­s are from 14 municipali­ties, four of

which are reporting their first cases. Here is a breakdown of today’s reported cases:

Age Range: 27 to 77

• Average Age: 51.8

• Age Brackets: (2) 20 – 29, (6) 30 – 39, (5) 40 – 49, (10) 50 – 59, (6) 60 – 69, (4) 70 - 79

• Gender: 15 females, 18 males

• Hospitaliz­ed: (16) No, (16) Unknown, (1) Yes

A map posted at www. montcopa.org/covid-19 provides updated geographic and demographi­c informatio­n on Montgomery County cases.

“While this is the largest single-day total of individual­s who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Montgomery County, given the increased access to testing over the past week, including the Community Based Testing Center which opened on Friday, we fully anticipate­d seeing an increase in the number of positive individual­s,” said Arkoosh.

The Montgomery County COVID-19 drive-through testing site at Temple University’s Ambler Campus in Upper Dublin Township opened on May 20. More than 825 individual­s have registered, and approximat­ely 680 individual­s will have completed testing by the end of the day today.

The testing site will remain open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., by appointmen­t only as testing supplies allow. Testing appointmen­ts are still available for individual­s that meet the required criteria. For more informatio­n and to register for an appointmen­t, visit www.montcopa.org/COVID-19 or call 610.631.3000.

The COVID-19 outbreak continues to be a rapidly evolving situation. To get the latest informatio­n and updates regarding COVID-19, please visit the Montco COVID-19 Data Hub at www.montcopa.org/ covid-19.

 ?? FILE PHOTO ?? The COVID-19 virus has claimed its first life in Montgomery County.
FILE PHOTO The COVID-19 virus has claimed its first life in Montgomery County.

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