All COVID-19 Measures Up In Chester County: Weekly Update

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — A months-long downward trend in COVID-19 metrics took a turn last week and for a second week running the Pennsylvania DOH reports climbing numbers.

New COVID-19 cases increased by 96 this week over the week before in Chester County. Last week there were 508 new cases reported in Chester County. In the week just ended, 604 new cases were reported here.

After two months of downward-trending COVID-19 metrics, Chester County also saw both the positivity rate and the county's incidence rate reverse their decline last week and again this week. In the Pennsylvania Department of Health week-to-week report, Chester County saw new COVID-19 cases turn upward the week of March 18. In the week ended March 11, cases had been down by 81.

Here's how the trend has looked in the past few weeks in Chester County: In the week ended March 11, the incidence rate per 100,000 residents was 73.5 and in the week ended March 18, the incidence rate was 96.8 per 100,000 residents. This week the DOH reported the incidence rate at 115 per 100,000 residents.

The positivity rate was also up this week in Chester County. It rose from 4.3 percent the week ended March 11 to 5.6 in the week ending March 18. In the most recent data reported, the positivity rate for the week ending March 25 was 5.9 percent.

Hospitalizations had trended down also; the week ended March 18 the daily average fell from 46 to 32. In the week just ended, the daily average number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 went up, from 32 on average last week, to 38 this week.

Here's why metrics include different ways of measuring COVID-19: Incidence rate shows new cases in relation to a local population, while positivity rate shows new cases in relation to the number of tests given, both measures helping to show more accurately how a virus is behaving in a population.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, 30,649 have tested positive for COVID-19 in Chester County, according to the Chester County Health Department. In that time 747 have died here.

Read this week's update on COVID-19 vaccines in Chester County here.

Information on Chester County's COVID-19 vaccine program and online registration can be found at chesco.org/covidvaccine.

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