SE Pa. counties move into ‘substantial level’ of virus transmission

HARRISBURG >> Montgomery County and all of its neighboring counties in Southeast Pennsylvania continue to see coronavirus positivity rates surge and some are now showing signs they are no longer suppressing the spread of the virus, according to the latest week-to-week data compiled by state health officials.

Montgomery County recorded a coronavirus positivity rate of 4.2% for the period July 30 to Aug. 5, which was an increase from the 3.2% positivity rate recorded during the period July 23 to July 29, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. Comparatively, the county had a 2.4% positivity rate recorded for the period July 16 to July 22 and on July 8 the

positivity rate in the county was 0.8%.

Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5% indicates a county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed. While the positivity rate is now showing signs of increasing each week, the latest data marks the thirteenth consecutive week that Montgomery County was below the 5% benchmark.

The county recorded the first two cases of the virus on March 7, 2020, and this week marks the 75th week that the virus has been present in the county.

As the number of positive cases increase in Montgomery County so have the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to state and county health data.

There were 58 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Montgomery County’s nine hospitals as of Monday, up from 50 COVID-19 patients on Aug. 2. Comparatively, there were 19 COVID-19 patients in the county’s hospitals on July 26.

Eight of the current patients required ventilators, according to county statistics.

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Aug. 7, Montgomery County had a “substantial” level of community transmission. There are four levels of community transmission — low, moderate, substantial and high.

All six of Montgomery County’s neighboring counties also recorded increases in positivity rates and some are now above or getting much closer to the of 5% benchmark, according to the state data. All six surrounding counties also had “substantial” levels of community transmission, according to CDC data.

At 6.7%, Lehigh County recorded the highest positivity rate in the region for the seven-day period ending Aug. 5 representing an increase from the 4.4% positivity rate recorded for the period ending July 29.

Berks County saw its positivity rate climb to 5.1% on Aug. 5, up from 4.2% on July 29 and 3.2% on July 22. Comparatively, on July 15, Berks had a positivity rate of 1.6% and on July 8, Berks had a positivity rate

of 0.8%.

In Philadelphia, the COVID-19 positivity rate was 5.0% for the period ending Aug. 5, up from 4.0% on July 29, according to state health data.

Delaware County recorded a 4.2% positivity rate for the seven-day period ending Aug. 5, which was an increase from the 3.2% positivity rate recorded for the period ending July 29.

In Bucks County, the positivity rate increased to 4.2% on Aug. 5, up from 3.0% on July 29.

Chester County recorded a COVID-19 positivity rate of 4.1% for the period July 30 to Aug. 5, the lowest in the region, but it was up from 2.7% for the period July 23 to July 29. On July 22, Chester County had a positivity rate of 2.3%.

The statewide positivity rate as of Aug. 5 was 5.4% which was an increase from the 3.9% positivity rate recorded the previous week.

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. The state’s weekly report is based on nasal swab tests, or the PCR, which are considered confirmed tests.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported that through Aug. 8, there were 418,854 Montgomery County residents who had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Another 57,875 county residents were partially vaccinated through Aug. 8, according to state data.

“Pennsylvania has had a lot of success rolling out

COVID-19 vaccines over the past several months. Unfortunately, despite widespread vaccine availability, there are still many eligible Pennsylvanians who are unvaccinated,” Wolf said in a statement issued on Friday when he visited a vaccination clinic in Philadelphia. “Please, if you haven’t had time to get vaccinated, make time. Vaccines are effective, safe, free and available.”

As of Aug. 6, Pennsylvania was ranked fifth among all 50 states for total vaccine doses administered, with more than 63% of Pennsylvanians ages 18 and older fully vaccinated, according to the governor’s office.

All Pennsylvanians age 12 and older are eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine.