Chester County Taking On Delco's Coronavirus Response

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Officials with Delaware and Chester counties Thursday said approval has been given by state authorities to allow the Chester County Health Department to take the lead on coronavirus response in Delco.

In a joint press conference Thursday, officials with both counties said Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health approved the partnership between the counties.

The approval was given by state officials Wednesday.

Some ways Chester County will help Delaware County include:

• expanded testing;
• case investigation and surveillance;
• quarantine designations;
• public health communication;
• daily monitoring of Emergency Room volume in hospitals in Delaware County;
• and set up a public call center.

"We believe this will allow us to respond to the COVID-19 emergency more effectively,” said Delaware Count Council Chairman Brian Zidek.

Delaware County, as of Thursday morning, has 14 positive coronavirus cases.

Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz said residents in her county need not worry about a lack of service due to the partnership.

"We analyzed efforts and processes to date and determined the Health Department has sufficient and excess capacity to handle both county's health needs," she said.

There will be a weekly standing meeting between both counties to ensure needs are being met across the board.

Zidek said working through the outbreak without a county health department was like "wearing sunglasses in a dark room" due to lack of information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

He said the county gets questions regularly about where confirmed cases in Delaware County are, how many people have been tested, who is quarantined and more, without answers for residents.

OFficials Thursday said Delaware County plans to reimburse Chester County for costs associated with Delco services when and if the state and/or federal government does not cover those costs.

"We don't expect Chester County residents to pick up tab for Delco," Zidek said.

There is no estimated cost for the services, officials said.

Officials said communication about the partnership and how Delaware County residents can use health services will be sent out Saturday.

On March 14, Delaware County Council and the Chester County Board of Commissioners sent a letter to Governor Wolf requesting that the Chester County Health Department be authorized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its Department of Health to assume primary responsibility and work with Delaware County’s elected officials and staff, regarding all aspects of Delaware County’s public health response to the Coronavirus outbreak in an effort to better serve the community of Delaware County.

Local elected leaders, both Republican and Democrat, in the Delaware County also sent Wolf letters supporting the request.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health expressed concerns that Chester County may not have the resources to meet both county’s needs pertaining to COVID-19.

Chester County assured the state that they have conducted an analysis of their capacity, and they are confident that are able to serve both counties.