Montco has lowest rate of positives in region

Rate of 2.5% positives in testing points to control of virus

HARRISBURG » Montgomery County recorded the lowest coronavirus percent-positivity rate among southeast Pennsylvania counties, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health.

For the period July 31 to Aug. 6 the percent-positivity rate for

Montgomery County was 2.5 percent, according to the state’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. That was a decrease from the 3.8 percent-positivity rate the county recorded for the previous seven-day period July 24 to July 30.

Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5 percent indicates a county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed.

According to state data, for the most recent seven-day period ending Aug. 6, neighboring counties recorded the following percent-positivity rates: Lehigh (3.1%); Bucks (3.4%); Chester (4.0%); Philadelphia (4.5%); Berks (4.5%); and Delaware (5.2%).

Berks previously had been placed on a watch list by Gov. Tom Wolf when between July 24 and July 30 that county had recorded a 5.6 percent-positivity rate, which was above the 5 percent threshold set by the Wolf administration. Now, Berks is showing a downward trend, according to the latest data.

Delaware County remained one of the counties with “concerning percent-positivity,” Wolf indicated on Friday.

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 data available on the dashboard includes week-over-week case differences, incidence rates, test percent-positivity, and rates of hospitalizations, ventilations and emergency room visits tied to COVID-19.

As of Aug. 6, the statewide percent-positivity rate decreased to 4.1 percent from 4.6 percent the previous week.

“The decreased case counts across the state, and in many counties this week, indicate that the tough decisions we have had to make are protecting Pennsylvanians,” Wolf said on Friday. “Our percent positivity decreased for

the second week in a row, which continues to reflect the willingness of Pennsylvanians to take steps to protect themselves and their neighbors.

“We must continue to wear masks, practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings to keep our numbers low, which will stop the spread and allow more freedom,” Wolf added. To keep the positivity rate below 5 percent, Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh stressed residents should continue to abide by all mask wearing, handwashing and social distancing recommendations. Arkoosh also urged residents to cooperate with contact tracers.

Acknowledging that neighboring counties currently have higher percentpositivity rates, Arkoosh urged county residents to be cautious when traveling to other counties for work or leisure activities.

“This virus doesn’t care about boundaries of counties or cities or townships and we do always need to be mindful of that,” Arkoosh said during a news briefing the week.

“I would remind everybody that you’re still safer at home. So if you are able to work from home, then that’s great and you should continue to do so, if that’s possible,” Arkoosh added.

For residents who cannot work from home, Arkoosh said hopefully, workplaces are being made as safe as possible.

“But if you don’t have to go somewhere, think twice about going. If you can avoid that trip or maybe skip a social gathering, just think twice,” Arkoosh said. “But if you do go, what’s so critically important is that you follow the guidelines of wearing a mask and staying six-feet away from people who aren’t in your household and that holds whether you’re indoors or outdoors.”