7 more deaths brings Montco total to 135
EAGLEVILLE » Montgomery County officials reported seven more COVID-19 deaths in the county on Friday and revealed another inmate at the county jail has tested positive for the virus.
The county’s death toll climbed to 135 with the deaths of the seven individuals whose ages ranged between 64 and 98. At least four of the individuals died in a hospital and one died at home, officials said.
To date, 73 men and 62 women have succumbed to the coronavirus. Officials said the racial breakdown for those that died included: nine Asian; two Asian Indian; two Asian Korean; 15 African Ameri
can; and 57 white. Information about the ethnicity of the remaining 50 individuals was unavailable.
In addition to the seven deaths, officials reported 111 new positive cases of the virus on Friday, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 2,423 since March 7, when the first cases of the virus were identified. The new positive individuals included residents from 32 municipalities. To date, Bryn Athyn is the only municipality that has not reported a case of the virus.
The new positive cases included 49 males and 62 females whose ages ranged from 5 to 99. Ten of the individuals are hospitalized, officials said.
County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said officials also learned that another inmate at the county jail in Lower Providence tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
“This brings the correctional facility to three inmates that have tested positive for COVID-19 and four individuals from whom we are waiting testing results. All of these individuals are in isolation and currently stable. No one has required hospitalization,” Arkoosh said. “The cellmates of these individuals are currently asymptomatic and also in quarantine.”
As a result of potential exposure, and in an abundance of caution, 218 other individuals are in quarantine at the county jail and all are asymptomatic, Arkoosh added.
During the last month, court and jail officials implemented measures to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 at the jail, including previously declaring state of emergency operations and closing the facility to the visiting public and lawyers. Authorities have also tried to reduce the jail population without threatening public safety.
Since the March 12 emergency judicial order was enacted, the prison
population, as of Thursday, had been reduced by 342 individuals, from 1,342 to 1,000, which is a 26-percent decrease.
The reductions were achieved by the courts through a combination of early parole for eligible inmates, electronic monitoring for those nonviolent inmates on work release, expediting administrative dispositions for probation violations and deferral of weekend sentences, officials said.
County officials also continue to monitor coronavirus data from the 75 longterm care facilities in the county that are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as well as from “other congregate care settings that have overnight services” in the county, for a total of about 620 facilities.
As of Friday, 79 of the facilities reported positive COVID-19 cases among residents and staff. Specifically, officials reported there are 607 cases among residents of the facilities and 323 cases among staff at the facilities, for a total of 930 positive cases. Officials pointed out that not all of the individuals are from Montgomery County and that some came from other areas of the region.
“But we are tracking these cases collectively to help the community understand some of the challenges that are currently being faced in our long-term care and other congregate facilities,” Arkoosh explained.
Arkoosh said 91 of the county’s total deaths were county residents who had been living at a long-term care facility, comprising about 67 percent of the total deaths.
The long-term care facilities where the deaths occurred were not identified, officials citing patient privacy concerns.
However, according to county statistics, Springfield and Upper Gwynedd townships have recorded the largest number of COVID-19 deaths, 30 and 19 respectively. Both townships are home to several long-term care facilities.
“Both of those townships do have a number of longterm care facilities and some of those are bigger longterm care facilities,” said Arkoosh, conceding “it’s certainly possible” that the elevated COVID-19 death figures in those townships could be tied to the fact that several long-term care facilities are located there.
As the sixth week of the COVID-19 outbreak came to an end, Arkoosh reminded residents of the need to continue mitigation measures, including social distancing.
“Our hospital beds continue to be in stable condition, thanks to all of you staying home,” said Arkoosh, continuing to emphasize to residents the benefits of social distancing, which health experts said can prevent the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals and first responders from being overwhelmed by a surge in cases. “We have beds available in all of our hospitals both in the regular units and in the intensive care units. We also have ventilators that are available.”
Arkoosh addressed the beliefs by some that the virus only affects the elderly, reminding residents that 33 percent of the individuals who died in the county were not residents of nor had any connections to long-term care facilities.
“In fact, one individual was in their late 40s. Positive cases in Montgomery County have ranged in age from 1 month to 110 years old. But the average age of positive individuals is only 54,” said Arkoosh, who was joined at the news briefing by fellow commissioners Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. and Joseph C. Gale and Dr. Alvin Wang, regional EMS medical director, and Dr. Brenda Weis, administrator of the Office of Public Health.
“So this isn’t someone else’s problem. We are all in this together and we all need to do our best to stay home, to minimize our trips,” Arkoosh added. “People can be contagious and not have symptoms and by going into a crowded location you have no idea whom you might be infecting.”