Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh.
Montgomery County officials announced 208 new COVID-19 cases during their daily press conference on Monday afternoon.
Though the number seems large, it represents two days’ worth of data—107 cases reported on Sunday and 101 today—as county officials did not issue a release on Sunday due to it being a holiday. Additionally, 23 deaths were reported since Saturday, officials said.
Data at the municipal level was not readily available at the time of the press conference, as officials said they were working to catch up from the weekend. The countywide map currently reflects totals as of Saturday, and does not include the 208 new cases nor the 23 new deaths.
As of Monday afternoon, cases in Montgomery County have increased to 2,023 total across 61 of the county's 62 municipalities. The only municipality within the county to not report a positive case is Bryn Athyn.
Of the more than 2,000 cases, 306 are from residents and 166 are from staff members of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Montgomery County Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said that officials are providing daily outreach and communication with the affected facilities, and efforts are underway to ensure they have enough personal protective equipment (PPE).
Arkoosh added that based on data from the former community testing site in Upper Dublin, it appears that cases peaked last week. Arkoosh added that the data was only in relation to those who were tested at the site, and may not apply to those being tested at hospitals and private labs, but said she was cautiously optimistic that the spread of the virus may be slowing.
The countywide death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 91.
Earlier on Monday, Pennsylvania reported 1,366 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 24,199 cases across 67 counties. The coronavirus death toll also increased by 17 since yesterday, bringing the total to 524 deaths across the commonwealth.
Among the state’s cases, 1,179 are in healthcare workers, 1,688 are in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, 2,205 are hospitalized and 665 require the use of a ventilator.
Despite the increases, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the state is no longer seeing the exponential growth that was seen in prior weeks, and added that social distancing and mitigation efforts were having a positive impact on containing further spread of the virus.
“This has been a very difficult and hard sacrifice for Pennsylvanians, but the sacrifice is working,” Levine said. “Our case numbers continue to grow, but we aren’t seeing the doubling, the exponential growth that other countries and states have seen. Social distancing works, and the closures are saving lives.”
“If we stop those efforts now, our healthcare systems will become overwhelmed and then more will be lost to this dangerous virus,” Levine continued. “We do not think that we have hit the surge at this time. We are certainly seeing a plateau in the number of new cases. The number of cases continues to rise, but the rate of the rise has slowed. We have bent that curve.”
In total, 105,593 residents have tested negative for the virus. Recovery statistics are not currently available at the state or county level, as officials said that data would require each person to self-report their recovery.
That said, with most agencies reporting an approximate two-percent mortality rate for the COVID-19 coronavirus, it can be deduced that 98-percent of cases are expected to recover.
See also:
North Penn Area Up To 206 Coronavirus Cases, Countywide Total At 1,815 Cases
Four More Coronavirus Deaths Reported In North Penn Area, Countywide Cases Increase To 1,695
Another Upper Gwynedd Resident Dies From Coronavirus, Countywide Cases Increase To 1,500
Gwynedd Square Nursing Center Confirms Multiple Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Among Residents
