COVID Positivity Rate Up To 7.42 Percent In Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — As the fall surge of COVID-19 continues in Montgomery County, all of the key metrics tracked by both state and county health officials have seen notable increases. It's been enough to put Montgomery County at the "substantial" level of community transmission, along with 37 other counties in Pennsylvania.

Statistics are published both by the county's coronavirus hub and by the state Department of Health's Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard, which paints a comprehensive picture of the impact and status of the virus in the community and the healthcare system at large.

• Newly reported confirmed cases: The county's 14-day average of daily cases is up to 133, as of Nov. 10. It stood at 69 on Oct. 29. There have been 1,868 new cases over the last 14 days altogether, which is a huge increase over the 854 the previous two weeks.
• PCR testing positivity rate: The percent positivity rate on all coronavirus tests in Montgomery County also went way up. The PCR testing positivity rate is now up to 7.42 percent. As recently as Oct. 13, it sat at a record low since March, at 1.97 percent.
• 14-day daily average COVID-specific hospitalizations: The 14-day daily average of patients hospitalized is at 91, as of Tuesday. It was at 68 on Nov. 4. There are currently 135 patients hospitalized in the county. On Oct. 3 there were 22.
• Patients on ventilators: The county metrics show the 14-day daily average of patients on ventilators in the county rising to 11 on Tuesday, up from 6 on Nov. 4.
• Incidence rate per 100,000 residents: The state's Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard, which tracks the incidence rate over seven day periods, has risen to 106.9 from 82.1 the week previous.
• Percent of hospital emergency department visits due to COVID-like illness: In Montgomery County, 0.6 percent of visits to the ER are due to COVID-like illness, which is actually down slightly from 0.8 percent the week before, according to the state.

>>38 PA Counties At 'Substantial' Level Of COVID-19 Community Spread

In response to the surge in cases, Montgomery County health officials are expanding hours at their six community testing sites beginning on Thursday, Nov. 12. The new schedule for testing sites is listed below. Sites were closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.

"We are experiencing a substantial increase in confirmed positive COVID-19 cases across all age groups with a corresponding increase in hospitalizations," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Tuesday.

Unlike other counties, new cases do not appear to be arising from college students. There's also little evidence to show that businesses like restaurants and bars have contributed a significant number of new cases.

Instead, Arkoosh notes, "contact tracing finds that the highest risk activities include private indoor gatherings and high contact recreational sports."

One recent outbreak involved numerous players and coaches on three different adult ice hockey teams which play at Hatfield Ice Arena and Oaks Ice Center.

Since the pandemic began, Montgomery County has had 15,307 residents test positive for COVID-19 and 807 deaths attributed to the virus. Statewide, there have been 243,368 cases, with 71 percent of those infected now recovered and 9,145 deaths.

See the state's Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard and related data here.

Montgomery County community testing sites schedule

• Ardmore, 114 W. Lancaster Avenue: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m.
• Green Lane, Deep Creek and Snyder roads: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m.
• Lansdale, 421 W. Main Street: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m.
• Norristown, 1401 Dekalb Street: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m.
• Pottstown, 364 King Street: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from noon to 2 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Willow Grove, 1768 Fairview Avenue: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from noon to 4 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.