Just 7 COVID Deaths In Montgomery Co. The Past Month: Officials

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Montgomery County has reported just seven deaths from coronavirus over the past month, continuing a trend of sharply decreasing mortality rates in the county.

The ages of the most recent victims, confirmed in successive weekly briefings from the Board of Commissioners, were not announced. Two of them were residents of long term care facilities, five of them were not.

Since March, the bulk of cases and deaths from coronavirus in the county have come in long term care facilities. However, in recent months the cases in facilities have significantly dropped, meaning much of the spread that's still happening is occurring out in the community.

Of the 827 deaths reported in the county due to the virus as of Thursday, 14 were aged 40 to 49, 34 were aged 50 to 59, 99 were aged 60 to 69, 176 were aged 70 to 79, 287 were aged 80 to 89, and 215 were 90-years-old and up.

Furthermore, only eight coronavirus patients are presently on ventilators in Montgomery County hospitals, officials said on Wednesday, another indicator of the positive health trends and the course of the virus around the county.

In addition, the total number of patients hospitalized due to the virus around the county is down to 47.

In April, around the height of the pandemic locally and as concerns about an overstressed healthcare system mounted, there were 80 coronavirus patients on ventilators and hundreds were hospitalized.

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Officials did caution that even one person on a ventilator serves as a reminder of the potentially deadly impacts of the virus.

"This is always just a sobering reminder that people do continue to be hospitalized from this disease, and a very significant number (of those hospitalized) do continue to require the use of a ventilator to help them breathe," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Wednesday.

She also urged residents to continue following social distancing protocols and to wear masks heading into Labor Day weekend.

"Please don’t let down your guard over the holiday weekend," she said. "If you are traveling, please be extra careful to wear a mask, practice social distancing and have good hand hygiene. These simple practices will help keep you and your family safe.”

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A total of 294 new cases were reported over the past seven days, which is roughly in line with the rate for the two months.