Officials closely monitoring COVID rise
Montco is watching the case increase but have not yet returned to requiring masks in county buildings.
NORRISTOWN >> Montgomery County government officials are closely monitoring the increase in COVID-19 cases in the county but have not yet returned to requiring masks in county buildings and facilities.
Currently, the policy on masking inside county buildings and facilities, including the courthouse in Norristown, is that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks while indoors but unvaccinated people must wear masks.
However, changes could be announced as early as Friday.
In an email sent to all county government employees on Aug. 6, and obtained by MediaNews Group, county officials indicated they are “keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 numbers.”
In consultation with the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, the county has been utilizing the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard to identify the county’s level of community transmission for COVID-19. County health officials will make recommendations to change masking policy only when the state dashboard, which is updated every Friday, shows two weeks of a consistent increase or decrease in level of community transmission, according to the email sent to county employees by county Director of Communications Kelly Cofrancisco.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Aug. 6, Montgomery County moved to a “substantial” level of community transmission. There are four levels of community transmissionlow, moderate, substantial and high.
The CDC recommends that to maximize protection from the delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, people should wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
County officials indicated that if they observe “two weeks of consistent increases in levels of community transmission to the substantial level or above,” they will send an all-employee email on Friday to note any changes in masking policy.
A new masking policy would then be effective at all county buildings and facilities the following Monday, officials said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, according to a report in the Reading Eagle, Berks County officials said effective Aug.16 all visitors and employees in county government buildings must wear face coverings regardless of one’s vaccination status.
Like Montgomery County, Berks County is classified by the CDC as having a “substantial level of community transmission.”
Montgomery County recorded more than 562 new, positive coronavirus cases during the sevenday period Aug. 4 to Aug. 10, marking the fifth consecutive week that cases have increased.
As of Aug. 10, the 14-day average of daily positive COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County stood at 66.4, up from the 14-day average of 45.4 cases on Aug. 3.
Montgomery County officials, in the Aug. 6 email to employees, said that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 “is the best way to end the pandemic, keep us all safe, and ensure a lasting return to normalcy.” County employees and residents can get the vaccine for free at any of the countyrun clinics or can visit www.vaccines.gov for a full list of locations offering the vaccine in the region.