Montco has lowest positivity rate in region
HARRISBURG >> Montgomery County recorded the lowest coronavirus positivity rate among Southeast Pennsylvania counties as the number of new positive cases continued to fall in the region, according to the latest week-to-week data compiled by state health officials.
Montgomery County recorded a coronavirus positivity rate of 0.6% for the period June 11 to June 17, which was a decrease from the 1.1% positivity rate recorded for the period June 4 to June 10, according to the Penn
sylvania 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 latest data marks the sixth consecutive week that Montgomery County fell below the 5% benchmark.
The county recorded the first two cases of the virus on March 7, 2020, and this week marks the 68th week since the virus surfaced in the county.
All six of Montgomery County’s neighboring counties also recorded positivity rates below the 5% benchmark, according to the state data.
With a COVID-19 positivity rate of 1.7% on June 17, Berks County recorded the highest positivity rate in the region. However, it was a decrease from the 2.6% positivity rate recorded for the seven-day period ending June 10.
Bucks County recorded a COVID-19 positivity rate of 0.8% during the most recent seven-day reporting period ending June 17, down from 1.1% on June 10.
In Delaware County, the positivity rate fell to 0.9% on June 17 from 1.3% on June 10, according to the state data.
Chester County’s COVID-19 positivity rate remained relatively flat at 0.9% on June 17. On June 10, the county recorded a positivity rate of 0.8%.
Lehigh County recorded a COVID-19 positivity rate of 1.6% for the period June 11 to June 17, down a full percentage point from the 2.6% recorded during the period ending June 10.
In Philadelphia, the COVID-19 positivity rate was 1.3% for the period ending June 17, down from 1.8% the previous week.
The statewide positivity rate as of June 17 was 1.4% which was a decrease from the 1.9% 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.
The decreases in the positivity rates come as vaccinations continue to increase.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Monday that 340,012 Montgomery County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Another 186,431 county residents have received a first dose of a vaccine, according to state data.
Referring to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state officials said that as of June 18, Pennsylvania had administered first doses of vaccine to 61.6% of its entire population, and the state ranks 8th among all 50 states for first doses administered by percentage of population.
According to the CDC data, as of June 20, 58.9% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated while 74.5% have received their first dose.
Meanwhile, there were 21 COVID-19 patients in Montgomery County’s nine hospitals on Monday, down from 30 a week ago. Officials said four of the current patients require ventilators.
The number of daily new positive cases of the virus has been decreasing weekly in Montgomery County. There were 54 new positive COVID-19 cases reported in the county during the seven-day period June 9 to June 15 and no new COVID-19 deaths were reported during that period.
As of June 15, the 14-day average of daily positive COVID-19 cases in the county stood at 10.9, which was a decrease from the 14-day average of 39.5 cases reported on May 27 and 26.6 cases reported on June 3.