WEST CHESTER — After a long run of declining cases of coronavirus, the Chester County Health Department is reporting that positive case counts last week were up substantially from last week and even the week before.
Last week, 489 people tested positive for coronavirus, up from 385 the week previous and 455 the week before that. Percent positivity rose above the 5 percent guideline that defines the "low risk" virus category, to 5.64 percent. It had been at 4.30 percent the week before, and 4.74 percent the week before that.
While Chester County's numbers are going in the wrong direction, neighboring Delaware County is seeing declining numbers. The percent positivity in Delaware County dropped to 5.23 percent, down from 6.08 percent the week before. It is the first time in several months that Delaware County's numbers are better than Chester County's.
To date, 739 people have died of coronavirus, and 29,863 people have tested positive, according to the Chester County Health Department. The majority of people testing positive continue to come from the 20 to 29 age bracket.
Current coronavirus hot spots in Chester County this week: Avondale, with 9.25 percent of the population testing positive; Atglen, 8.36 percent; Oxford, 7.92 percent; Coatesville, 7.46 percent; Penn Township, 7.25 percent; Valley Township, 7.18 percent; East Nottingham, 7 percent; Elk Township, 6.46 percent; Lower Oxford Township, 6.4 percent and West Chester, 6.18 percent.
East Marlborough Township enjoys being the municipality with the lowest positivity rate - 2.58 percent. In fact, there has not been a single positive case of coronavirus from a resident of East Marlborough in the past 30 days.
The good news is that since December, the number of deaths attributed to coronavirus in Chester County has seen a slow but steady decline.
At Chester County's 75 long-term care facilities, there have been 2,568 positive cases and 448 deaths. At Delaware Count's 62 long-term care facilities, there have been 4,066 positive cases and 811 deaths, according to the Chester County Health Department.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is reporting an additional 1,578 additional positive cases of COVID-19 as of March 22, in addition to 2,342 new cases reported Sunday, March 21, for a two-day total of 3,920 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 988,435.
There are 1,554 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 320 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
The trend in the 14-day moving average number of hospitalized patients per day is about 4,600 lower than it was at the peak on Dec. 25, 2020. The current 14-day average is also below what it was at the height of the spring peak on May 3, 2020. However, the decrease in hospitalized patients has stalled.
Statewide percent positivity for the week of March 12 to March 18 stood at 6.5 percent.
Pennsylvania hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 14 and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 21. The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine was first allocated to Pennsylvania the week of March 1, and the commonwealth is using it for a special initiative involving educators. Vaccination numbers for Pennsylvania do not include Philadelphia, which is its own jurisdiction, or federal facilities, which are working directly with the federal government.
Vaccine providers have administered 4.3 million total vaccine doses as of Monday, March 22. There are now 1.5 million people fully vaccinated in Pennsylvania; with a seven-day moving average of nearly 84,000 people per day receiving vaccinations.
This week, a total of 5.2 million doses will have been allocated through March 27. To date, of the 5.2 million doses allocated through March 27, 4.3 million doses have been administered.
The Chester County Health Department is sending out an email to a number of Phase 1A individuals who are “next in line” to receive the vaccine. Chester County is currently vaccinating at West Chester University, Kimberton Fire Co., Kennett Fire Co., and the Phoenixville, Coatesville and Oxford senior centers.
Approximately two weeks after Gov. Tom Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced the voluntary single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be administered to Pre-K to 12 educators and school staff, the special initiative is ahead of schedule and proven to be a great success. As of this morning, 83,859 people have received the J&J vaccine through this initiative.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our efforts to get school staff vaccinated – and for making it happen so quickly,” said Wolf. “Most importantly, vaccinating teachers will help students to get back in the classroom faster, ease the burden on parents and benefit entire communities.”
To find a vaccine locator in the region: http://vaccinatepa.org.
March 23, 2021 at 12:30PM
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