Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh.
Montgomery County officials announced 114 new COVID-19 cases and 8 new deaths on Thursday, with the local area seeing 17 new cases and two more deaths.
In the North Penn area, Hatfield Township has the most cases with 71 and two deaths, followed by Montgomery Township with 69 and three deaths, Upper Gwynedd Township with 54 and 19 deaths, Lansdale Borough with 34 and one death, Towamencin Township with 23 and two deaths, Hatfield Borough with 11 cases and North Wales Borough with three cases.
Total cases in the North Penn area currently stand at 265 and 27 deaths. Cases in the neighboring communities are as follows:
Totals across the surrounding municipalities currently stands at 320 cases and 16 deaths. As of Thursday afternoon, the only municipality within the county to not report a positive case is Bryn Athyn.
The countywide death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 128, of which 84 have occurred in residents of long-term care facilities. Upper Gwynedd Township has the second highest amount of deaths in the county at 19, behind only Springfield Township with 29.
Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said that there are 75 licensed long-term care facilities within the county, and as of last week—prior to the additional reporting of 600 congregate living facilities—at least two-thirds of them had at least one case of COVID-19, either in residents or staff. Adding both the 75 long-term care facilities and 600 congregate living facilities, there are currently 556 cases among residents and 315 cases among staff members, Arkoosh said.
When asked yesterday if the county would be providing more information regarding which facilities are affected, Arkoosh said that releasing information was a balance between transparency and privacy. Arkoosh added that if they identified a small facility, others may be able to narrow it down to a specific resident or staff member, which would be a violation of privacy.
On Thursday, Arkoosh provided the following details in regards to affected facilities and their current caseload:
Arkoosh added that county employees began visiting two long-term care facilities per day on Thursday, in an effort to provide guidance and assistance.
“We’re going in to offer any help that we can. We are there in a supportive role,” Arkoosh said. “We do not have jurisdiction over these facilities, but we’re helping in any way we can.”
Earlier on Thursday, Pennsylvania reported 1,245 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 27,735 cases across 67 counties. The coronavirus death toll also increased by 60 since yesterday, bringing the total to 707 deaths across the commonwealth.
“COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Pennsylvania, and even though the daily increases are not exponential, now is not the time to become complacent,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to stay home to protect ourselves, our families, our community. If you must go out, please make as few trips as possible and wear a mask to protect not only yourself, but other people as well. We need all Pennsylvanians to continue to heed these efforts to protect our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our health care workers and frontline responders.”
Of those cases, 1,401 are in healthcare workers. Additionally, 3,684 cases have been reported across 306 nursing homes in 34 counties. Of the nursing home cases, 394 are among staff members, and 365 deaths—more than half of the state’s total—have been reported among nursing home residents.
2,503 Pennsylvania residents have been hospitalized by the coronavirus to date—slightly less than 10-percent of all cases—and 664 have required the use of a ventilator, according to Levine.
In total, 113,735 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:
Daily Update: North Penn Area Sees 12 More Coronavirus Cases, Two More Deaths
Daily Update: Lansdale, Towamencin See First Coronavirus Deaths, Countywide Cases Up To 2,123
Daily Update: Montco Coronavirus Cases Increase To 2,023 And 91 Deaths
Daily Update: 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
