The state’s rate of positive testing for coronavirus continues to drop, but most Pennsylvania counties continue to show substantial spread of the virus, Governor Tom Wolf’s office said on Monday.
The positive test rate for COVID-19 dropped to 8.6% in the week from January 29 to February 29. 4, down 9.3% during the previous week. The positive test rate dropped to eight consecutive weeks after reaching a 16.2% increase in December. Although the rate is decreasing, health officials said that a positive test rate greater than 5% is a source of concern.
Across the state, 59 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties continue to show substantial spread of the virus. The Wolf administration uses three categories to measure the spread of COVID-19: low, moderate and substantial. Last week, there were 63 counties with substantial spread. There was substantial spread across all counties for much of December and January.
There are now eight counties in Pennsylvania that do not have a substantial spread. The governor praised the improvement of data across the state.
“This is the first week in many, many weeks that we are seeing counties with positivity rates below 5%, as well as all 67 counties reporting positivity rates below 20% – this is good news to mitigate the spread of this viruses in our communities across the community, ”Wolf said in a statement.
At the same time, Wolf continued to emphasize the importance of wearing masks and social detachment. He also emphasized the importance of “being vaccinated when it is your turn”.
A closer look
Here’s a look at the transmission level in Pennsylvania counties.
Low: Cameron County
Moderate: Armstrong, Bedford, Cambria, Elk, Indiana, Westmoreland and Wyoming
Substantial: Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Carbon, Center, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne and York
State officials urged school officials to consider the extent of the spread of COVID-19 by the community when determining whether students should be at school or be educated remotely. Last month, the Wolf administration said it was recommending school districts to focus on returning elementary students to classrooms, even in counties with a substantial spread of the virus.
Still, local school leaders continue to decide whether schools should teach in person, remotely or with a combination of in-person and virtual classes.
Vaccines
Last week, Pennsylvania health secretary Alison Beam said the state will continue to aim to improve the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, an effort that has drawn growing bipartisan criticism. In an interview with PennLive’s editorial board last week, Beam said that some vaccine providers are erroneously and unnecessarily withholding the first doses (vaccines require two doses).
Beam also indicated last week that priority will be given to providers that deliver vaccines at a faster rate. The most efficient suppliers will have a greater supply of the vaccine available, said Beam.
The state administered more than 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Philadelphia is running its own vaccine distribution effort.
More than 870,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Pennsylvania and more than 22,000 deaths have been associated with COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health.
Most infected people develop relatively mild symptoms and many never get sick. But coronavirus poses risks to everyone, especially the elderly and those with health complications, say doctors and researchers.