Montco COVID-19 positivity rate decreases, slightly

Montgomery County’s coronavirus percent-positivity rate decreased slightly as the county entered the 42nd week of the pandemic, according to the latest data from state health officials.

For the period Dec. 11 to Dec. 17, Montgomery County recorded a COVID-19 percent-positivity rate of 11.4%, a decrease from the 11.9% positivity rate recorded during the seven-day period Dec. 4 to Dec. 10, 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.

The county recorded the first two cases of the virus in March and this week marks the 42nd week since the virus surfaced in the county.

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.

Lehigh County recorded the highest positivity rate in the region at 17.7% for the period ending Dec. 17, which was a slight increase from 17.2% the previous week.

Montgomery County’s other neighboring counties recorded the following percent-positivity rates during the seven-day period ending Dec. 17: Berks (17.6%); Bucks (16.4%); Philadelphia (13.0%); Chester (11.7%); and Delaware (11.6%), 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.

As of Dec. 17, the statewide percent-positivity rate was 15.8% which was down from 16.1% the previous week, according to the dashboard.

“A decrease in percent positivity this week shows that we must continue to stay the course as we prevent the spread of this virus,” Wolf said on Monday. “As we approach a number of holidays, we need to put Pennsylvania on pause and continue to follow the time-limited mitigation efforts announced last week.

Last week, state officials implemented new temporary restrictions prohibiting indoor dining, limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people, closing gyms and capping retail businesses at 50% capacity to help mitigate the spread of the virus. The temporary restrictions went into effect Dec. 12 and are slated to last until Jan. 4.

“We need all Pennsylvanians to follow these measures as part of their collective responsibility to protect one another and the health system,” Wolf added.

State and county officials also urged residents to abide by all mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing recommendations and 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.

Meanwhile, for the period Dec. 19 to Dec. 21, Montgomery County recorded a total of 839 new positive cases of the virus, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 29,682 since March 7 when the first two cases of the virus were identified in the county. Thirty-four of the 839 new cases were residents of long-term care facilities, according to county data.

County officials also reported 11 more COVID-19 deaths on Monday, bringing the county’s death toll to 962 since March.

State officials said every county in the state except for Sullivan County has a concerning percent positivity rate above 5%, including 20 counties with percent positivity at or above 20%. Sullivan County recorded a positivity rate of 4.2%.

As of Dec. 17, the state recorded a seven-day increase of 57,098 COVID-19 cases. The previous sevenday increase was 61,469 cases, indicating 4,371 fewer cases across the state over the past week compared to the previous week.

“While our case data shows some improvement, the continued strain COVID-19 is placing on the rate of hospitalizations and ventilator use serve as a reminder to us all of our role in protecting our health care system,” state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said on Monday.

“We know that hospitalizations and deaths often lag after our case increases. Our hospitals are taxed and many locations have very few ICU beds available. We know COVID-19 does not discriminate and is affecting every county in the commonwealth,” Levine added.