Community Spread Risk In PA: 9 Counties Have Designation Changed

PENNSYLVANIA — The state has changed their designation of "level of risk of community spread" for nine counties across Pennsylvania, they announced this week. The risk has been decreased in five counties and increased in four counties, a reflection of the constant flux of the virus.

The metric is put together by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to analyze the comparative likelihood of contracting coronavirus through community transmission in each county.

Levels of rating include substantial, moderate, or low. Low is less than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, moderate is between 10 and 100, and substantial is more than 100.

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All of southeastern Pennsylvania has remained in the "moderate" bracket, which is where 45 counties in the state have been filed. Another 21 are in the "low." The "substantial" risk category is now down to just one county, Union, where state officials are talking with the school district on the "implications of this level of transmission."

Officials with the Department of Education are using this data a guideline for how they recommend individual school districts in each county conduct instruction this school year, as well as how to handle new cases within a school community once it reopens.

Here's the full list, updated to the week ending Aug. 20, which is the most recent data available:

SUBSTANTIAL

• Union

MODERATE

• Adams
• Allegheny
• Armstrong
• Beaver
• Berks
• Blair
• Bucks
• Butler
• Cambria
• Carbon
• Centre
• Chester
• Clearfield
• Columbia
• Crawford
• Cumberland
• Dauphin
• Delaware
• Erie
• Fayette (dropped from substantial)
• Franklin
• Huntingdon
• Indiana
• Lackawanna
• Lancaster
• Lawrence
• Lebanon
• Lehigh
• Luzerne
• Lycoming
• Mercer
• Mifflin (elevated from low)
• Monroe
• Montgomery
• Montour (elevated from low)
• Northampton
• Northumberland
• Perry (elevated from low)
• Philadelphia
• Schuylkill
• Snyder
• Susquehanna (elevated from low)
• Washington
• Westmoreland
• York

LOW

• Bedford (dropped from moderate)
• Bradford
• Cameron
• Clarion
• Clinton (dropped from moderate)
• Elk
• Forest
• Fulton
• Greene (dropped from moderate)
• Jefferson
• Juniata
• McKean
• Pike
• Potter
• Somerset (dropped from moderate)
• Sullivan
• Tioga
• Venango
• Warren
• Wayne
• Wyoming