Montco records 11 more deaths
EAGLEVILLE » Montgomery County officials reported 11 more deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the county’s death toll to 244, and said 81 percent of the confirmed positive deaths were county residents living in long-term care facilities.
The 11 deaths included individuals who ranged in age from 63 to 92. To date, 122 women and 122 men have died from the virus in the county.
“I mention that gender statistic because in other countries there’s been a disproportionately large number of males that have
lost their lives to this disease over females, but we are not seeing that here in Montgomery County,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said during a Wednesday news briefing at the county Emergency Operation Center.
Officials said the racial breakdown for those that have died included: 12 Asian; two Asian Indian; three Asian Korean; 28 African American; and 85 white. Information about the ethnicity of the remaining 114 individuals was unavailable.
Those 244 total deaths were “confirmed positive” COVID-19 cases through the use of lab tests, officials explained.
Arkoosh added 199 of the county’s total 244 “confirmed positive” COVID-19 deaths were county residents who had been living at a long-term care facility, representing about 81 percent of the total deaths. The long-term care facilities where the deaths occurred were not identified.
Officials also reported that as of Wednesday, 78 other deaths in the county have been listed as “probable” COVID-19 deaths. Those are deaths that list COVID-19 as a cause of
death on a death certificate but in which there was no laboratory confirmation of the virus.
“That probable number goes up and down every day because some of these deaths that are initially felt to be probable, we do end up getting lab confirmation of those deaths. So that number will go up and down,” Arkoosh explained.
Officials also reported 173 new positive cases of the virus on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 4,037 since March 7, when the first two cases of the virus were identified in the county. The new positive individuals were residents of 36 municipalities.
The new positive cases included 97 males and 76 females whose ages ranged from 1 to 95. Three of the individuals are hospitalized, officials said.
Arkoosh said currently, there are about 400 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the county. In comparison, on March 23 there were only 15 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
“So, it just gives you some sense of how rapidly escalating this disease has been in our county,” 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.
County officials also are monitoring 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 Wednesday, 90 of the facilities reported positive COVID-19 cases among residents and staff. Specifically, officials reported there are 1,050 cases among residents of the facilities and 439 cases among staff at the facilities, for a total of 1,489 positive individuals. Officials pointed out that not all of the individuals are from Montgomery County and that some came from other areas of the region.
“I want to remind everyone that these numbers matter. When these individuals go to a hospital it’s frequently a 911 call that is placed and so that exposes our first responders. When they get to the hospital they will occupy a bed and expose health care workers. These numbers matter,” Arkoosh stressed. “I also want to remind you that the staff that is working so incredibly hard at these facilities to keep their residents safe and well cared for are also being exposed and the staff go home to their families in our communities.”
County health officials have recommended that operators of long-term care facilities test all residents and staff.
During a 48-hour period ending last Friday, county officials tested every inmate and staff member at the county jail in Lower Providence for the virus.
A total of 942 inmates were tested at the facility and 171 of the inmates tested positive, representing about 18 percent of the inmate population, according to the complete results.
“None of the individuals who have tested positive are showing any symptoms. All 171 of those people did not have any symptoms when we tested them. It’s just another example of the importance of why we need to be testing, particularly, people who live in congregate facilities together. There could be large numbers of asymptomatic patients but who are carrying the virus and could be contagious,” Arkoosh explained.
The inmates who tested positive were placed in isolation. Another 544 inmates were in quarantine as a safety precaution.
Officials previously identified six other inmates at the jail who tested positive, bringing the total number of inmates who tested positive since the outbreak began to 177.
The two communitybased testing sites in Whitpain and Norristown will be closed on Thursday as the forecast calls for high winds and torrential rains in the region. Both sites are expected to reopen on Friday but it will depend on whether any storm damage occurs on Thursday.
The drive-thru testing site at the central campus of the Montgomery County Community College in Whitpain is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily as testing supplies allow. Registration for each day’s appointments will open at 8 a.m. daily and will remain open until all available spots are filled. Individuals can register online at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19
Individuals who do not have access to the internet or do not have an email address can call 610-6313000 to register for a testing appointment.
The walk-up community based testing site for Norristown residents is located on the parking lot of the Delaware Valley Community Health Norristown Regional Health Center, 1401 DeKalb St. The free testing is provided by appointment only from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Officials stressed the site is a walk-up operation and a vehicle will not be required.
Norristown residents can register for testing by calling 610-592-0680 starting at 8:30 a.m. daily.
“I mention that gender statistic because in other countries, there’s been a disproportionately large number of males that have lost their lives to this disease over females, but we are not seeing that here in Montgomery County.” - Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh