4 PA Counties Out Of Coronavirus Red Zone: White House Task Force

PENNSYLVANIA — Four Pennsylvania counties are no longer in the "red zone" for coronavirus outbreak severity, according to the latest report by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

The report, released Jan. 10, shows Philadelphia, Jefferson, Tioga and Sullivan counties are no longer listed as "red."

All four have upgraded to the "orange zone," which means those counties reported between 51 and 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 8 and 10 percent.

Counties that are in "red zones" have more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result of above 10 percent. "Yellow zone" designated counties have reported between 10 and 50 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 5 and 7.9 percent.

In a previous reported this month, issued Jan. 3, two counties — Allegheny and Tioga — were moved from the red zone to the orange. Sullivan County in the Jan. 3 report was in the yellow zone. Allegheny and Sullivan have moved to the red zone in the Jan. 10 report.

Similar to the Jan. 3 report, the Jan. 1o report urges continued vaccine administration for selection populations and calls for an extension of the state's indoor dining ban.

"Do not delay the rapid immunization of those over 65 and vulnerable to severe disease; recommend creation of high throughput vaccination sites with use of EMT personnel to monitor for potential anaphylaxis and fully utilize nursing students. No vaccines should be in freezers but should instead be put in arms now; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this surge would save lives," the report states.

It also recommends increased testing among residents 40 and younger to prevent asymptomatic silent spread to their household members.

Additionally, the report calls for long term care facilities in areas where hospitals are struggling with patient loads to be sufficiently prepared to help off-load chronic patients from those hospitals.

The report shows a 12 percent increase in new cases from the week before, as well as 23 percent and 27 percent increases in hospitals with supply shortages and staff shortages, respectively, form Jan. 3 to Jan. 10.

The latest report notes the state is above the average national testing rate. Pennsylvania is at the yellow level for number of tests performed per 100,000 people for the previous week, the report said. The yellow level is 2,000 to 2,999 tests per 100,000 population.

See the full Jan. 10 report here.