COVID-19 positivity rate stable in Montco
Surge reported in Berks County
HARRISBURG » Montgomery County continues to have the lowest coronavirus positivity rate in southeast Pennsylvania while Berks County’s positivity rate surged, leading officials to set up an additional testing site there, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
For the period Oct. 2 to Oct. 8, the percent-positivity rate for Montgomery County was 2.5%, according to the state’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard. That was a slight increase from the 2.3% positivity rate the county recorded for the previous seven-day period Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.
Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5% indicates a county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed.
In neighboring Berks County, the positivity rate increased to 5.9% for the most recent sevenday period ending Oct. 8, which was up from 5.0% recorded the previous week. State officials essentially placed Berks on a watch
list of counties with concerning percent-positivity rates.
Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that beginning Tuesday an outdoor testing clinic will be held in the parking lot of FirstEnergy Stadium in Berks to help contain the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.
“Since the beginning of September, we have seen an increase of 1,469 cases in Berks County, which gives us significant cause for concern,” Levine said on Friday. “These testing sites will be open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms who test positive isolate and quarantine to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
The department decides which counties to deploy testing based on the total number of confirmed cases in the last 14 days per 100,000 people as well as where outbreaks are happening, county population, and other metrics.
Meanwhile, Montgomery County’s other neighbors recorded the following percent-positivity rates during the latest seven-day period ending Oct. 8: Philadelphia (3.9%); Lehigh (3.5%); Chester (3.3%); Delaware (3.2%); and Bucks (3.0%).
“While we are stable here in Montgomery County … all around us are counties that are slowly rising,” Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said during a news briefing last week. “So, I just want to sound this cautionary note.
“I think we’ve had a lot of good news out of the county. Thanks to your hard work and your diligence in following guidelines our positivity is low, the lowest it’s been in this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that we get to relax and take off our masks and have bigger social gatherings,” Arkoosh added. “We must continue to be vigilant.”
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 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 Oct. 8, the statewide percent-positiv it y rate increased to 3.9% percent from 3.7% the previous week, according to the dashboard.
“We know that congregation, especially in college and university settings, yields increased case counts. The mitigation efforts in place now are essential to flattening the curve and saving lives,” Levine said on Monday. “Wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and following the requirements set forth in the orders for bars and restaurants, gatherings, and telework will help keep our case counts low.”
State health officials said they are seeing significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19 to 24-year-olds. An alert was sent to health care providers about the changing COVID-19 case demographics, as there are more cases in younger age groups than in those 50 to 64 and over 65.
The state’s southeast region saw an increase among 19 to 24-year-olds in each month from April to date in October, specifically, nearly 5% of cases in April to nearly 18% of cases so far in October, according to state data.
“We are seeing more virus in younger age groups particularly we’ve seen increases compared to last month in that 34 years and younger age groups,” Arkoosh pointed out last week. “We do still continue to see plenty of virus out there. So please, please be careful.”