Montco adds 2,300 cases in two days
Record numbers reported across the county in latest surge
NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County recorded more than 2,300 more COVID-19 cases and four deaths in a two-day period earlier this week.
As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, 2,361 Montgomery County residents tested positive for COVID-19 from Jan. 6 to Jan. 7, according to Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Data HUB. Ninety-eight cases came from long term care facilities and 16 from inmates at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville. No deaths were reported during this timeframe.
Earlier this week, 1,873 COVID-19 cases and four deaths were reported from Jan. 4 to Jan. 5, according to the county’s COVID-19 online database. There were 46 cases from long-term care facilities and 16 inmates from the county correctional facility.
A total of 97,401 cases and 1,461 deaths were reported since the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Montgomery County on March 7, 2020, according to the county’s COVID-19 resources webpage.
“We are currently seeing record COVID-19 numbers across the county,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Val Arkoosh.
Arkoosh addressed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in her opening remarks during Thursday’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting. A virtual press conference was held on Wednesday concerning the public health crisis’ impact on Montgomery County. Arkoosh, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
The county is experiencing a 20.55 percent positivity rate, Arkoosh said Thursday.
Additionally, 607 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 at Montgomery County medical facilities as of Friday morning, with 37 on ventilators, according to the county’s COVID-19 resources
webpage.
“We all hoped that this pandemic would be in a different place by now but the reality is that this virus is tenacious and it’s not going down without a fight,” Arkoosh said. “But we have a lot of fight left, and so many more tools to beat this thing than we had at the beginning of this pandemic.”
Arkoosh stressed the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
“If you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated. It’s time,” Arkoosh said. “It is the very least that you can do to honor and protect our frontline workers, particularly those working in our hospitals, and your family and friends.”
About 91 percent of eligible Montgomery County residents, ages 5 years and older, have “received at least one dose of the (COVID-19) vaccine,” according to Arkoosh, who added that “we believe that many of these folks are fully vaccinated.”
In Montgomery County, 508,840 residents are fully inoculated and 127,362 residents are partially vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard. There are 181,161 others who’ve received an additional dose since Aug. 13, 2021.
Montgomery County has COVID-19 vaccine clinics located in Ardmore, Norristown, Pottstown, and Willow Grove. For more information and scheduling, visit montcopa.org/covid-19.
“We have plenty of vaccine supply, and we encourage anyone unvaccinated to just walk up to our clinics,” she said.
In addition, county vaccine clinics offer the pediatric version of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Arkoosh said. She emphasized that appointments are required for the 5-to-11-year-old age group and that an adult must be with them.
COVID-19 booster shots are also available at the aforementioned locations, but Arkoosh recommended that those interested make an appointment and can select the type of vaccine.
Along with vaccinations, Arkoosh offered several health and safety points for people to keep in mind including wearing masks indoors as well as keeping “gatherings small and limited to vaccinated individuals and outdoors if possible.”
Arkoosh acknowledged current difficulties surrounding obtaining a COVID-19 test.
“We know that in-person testing resources throughout the county are strained as they are across our country, and at home antigen tests have been difficult to secure,” she said. “We are working to expand testing availability as quickly as possible.”
Arkoosh noted there are plans to increase testing capacity to add 1,500 more appointments per week at county testing sites.
“So for the month of January, we are hoping to offer 6,000 more tests than we’d been offering previously,” she said. “In addition, we are working to procure athome antigen tests for distribution to critical populations and to frontline workers.”
The county’s testing clinics are open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 114 W. Lancaster Ave. in Ardmore; at the intersection of Deep Creek and Snyder roads in Green Lane; 1401 DeKalb St. in Norristown; 364 King St. in Pottstown; and 2522 W. Moreland Road in Willow Grove.
People living, working and going to school in Montgomery County are eligible to get a free COVID-19 test. Those interested can make an appointment online beginning at 7 a.m. each day, or by calling 610-970-2937 starting at 8:30 a.m. each day.
For more information, visit montcopa.org/covid-19.