COVID-19 continues Montco surge
HARRISBURG » Montgomery County’s coronavirus positivity rate remained at a level last week that indicated community spread of the virus continues, according to state health officials.
For the period Nov. 20 to Nov. 26, Montgomery County recorded a COVID-19 percent-positivity rate of 8.0%, which is a slight decrease from the 8.5% positivity rate recorded during the sevenday period Nov. 13 to Nov. 19, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.
Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5% indicates a county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed.
Each of Montgomery County’s six neighboring counties also recorded positivity rates above the 5% threshold for the most recent seven-day period, according to the state’s data.
Philadelphia County recorded the highest positivity rate at 13.2% for the period ending Nov. 26, which was an increase from 13.1% the previous week.
Montgomery County’s other neighboring counties recorded the following percent-positivity rates during the seven-day period ending Nov. 26: Lehigh (13.1%); Bucks (12.1%); Berks (11.4%); Delaware (10.4%); and Chester (7.8%), according to state statistics.
Gov. Tom Wolf said the state’s COVID-19 dashboard is designed to provide early warning signs of factors that affect the state’s mitigation efforts.
“Latest models continue to indicate very concerning trends for our hospital availability and ICU bed availability.”
— Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine
As of Nov. 26, the statewide percent-positiv it y rate increased to 11.7% from 11.2% the previous week, according to the dashboard.
“Pennsylvania continues to trend in the wrong direction as COVID-19 continues to spread,” Wolf said on Monday.
For the period Nov. 28 to Nov. 30, Montgomery County recorded a total of 891 new positive cases of the virus, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 20,803 since March 7 when the first two cases of the virus were identified in the county. Thirty of the 891 new cases were residents of long-term care facilities and there were two new cases reported among inmates at the county jail during the three-day period, according to county data.
County officials also reported two more COVID-19 deaths between Nov. 28 and Nov. 30, bringing the county’s total death toll to 871 since March.
As of Monday, there were 342 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county’s nine hospitals and 41 of the patients required ventilators.
State officials said every county in the state has a concerning percent positivity rate above 5% except for one county, Forest County at 3.6%. Five counties, Juniata, Mifflin, Bedford, Somerset and Tioga, recorded positivity rates above 20%, according to state data.
“Last week, we took a number of mitigation steps designed to reverse this trend and help protect Pennsylvanians. We need all Pennsylvanians to follow these measures as part of their collective responsibility to protect one another. I remain convinced that by working together Pennsylvanians can stop the spread of this virus,” Wolf said.
State and county officials have urged residents to download the COVID Alert PA app and to cooperate with contact tracers.
COVID Alert PA is a free mobile app, offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, that uses Bluetooth low energy technology and the Exposure Notification System, created jointly by Google and Apple, to notify and give public health guidance to anyone who may have been in close contact with a person who also has the app and has tested positive for COVID-19.
Last week, the state also began using the national Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system to provide important public messages about the pandemic. The system allows customers who own compatible mobile devices to receive geographically targeted, text-like messages alerting them about imminent threats to safety in their areas. The system is commonly used to issue time-sensitive and life-saving alerts, such as Amber Alerts or severe weather warnings.
Officials said if one region of the state is experiencing an exceptionally high surge in COVID-19 cases, cellphone users in that region may receive an alert with information about staying at home or about where to find an available COVID-19 testing site in their area.
“WEA is one more way to reach as many Pennsylvanians as we can to provide timely information on COVID-19,” Wolf said. “This tool is another tool in our toolkit to fight the pandemic and unite against COVID.”
As of Nov. 26, the state recorded a seven-day increase of 41,424 COVID-19 cases. The previous sevenday increase was 37,380 cases, indicating 4,044 more new cases across the state over the past week compared to the previous week.
“This week’s data, and the one week change in the rate of hospitalizations and ventilator use is a reminder to us all of our role in protecting our health care system,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said on Monday.
“Latest models continue to indicate very concerning trends for our hospital availability and ICU bed availability. We know COVID-19 does not discriminate and is affecting every county in the commonwealth. It is affecting all Pennsylvanians, no matter your race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status or whether you live in a rural, suburban or urban area,” Levine added.
State health of f icials also are providing weekly data on the number of COVID-19 cases among 5 to 18-year-olds statewide.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 27, 95 4 t ot a l c a se s of COVID-19 among 5 to 18-year-olds. Of that tot a l, 4,212 occurred between Nov. 20 and Nov. 26. Comparatively, for the week of Nov. 13 to Nov. 19, there were 3,937 cases of COVID-19 among 5 to 18-year-olds, according to the data.
“Pennsylvania continues to trend in the wrong direction as COVID-19 continues to spread.”
— Gov. Tom Wolf