Is Montco Meeting Metrics To Move To Green? See New Data Here

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — How soon can Montgomery County move from yellow to green phase of coronavirus mitigation? The state health department has launched an online dashboard to shed light on just that.

The dashboard shows progress in the four key metrics used to determine how soon a county can move through the COVID-19 phased reopening plan.

The dashboard has a county-by-county breakdown of the following metrics:

• Stable, decreasing, or low confirmed case counts over the past two weeks compared to previous two weeks
• Contacts of case are being monitored
• PCR positivity rate <10 percent in past 14 days
• Hospital bed use is 90 percent or lower per district population

Philadelphia and its surrounding counties moved from the red to the yellow phase of coronavirus mitigation measures on Friday. Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties were among the state's last to move to the yellow phase.

After a county transitions to the yellow phase, state health officials will "closely monitor" for increased risk, such as significant outbreaks. If overall risk remains mitigated for 14 days, the county will transition to the green phase.

According to the dashboard, which was last updated Monday, a majority of the counties in the Southeast region are meeting the metrics for progress.

Of the eight counties in the region, Berks, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, and Schuylkill are meeting all four metrics. Philadelphia, Chester, and Lancaster are not currently meeting the PCR positivity rate metric. Chester is also not meeting the case count metric.

“As the dashboard shows, there are several metrics used to determine if it is safe for a county to reopen to the next phase,” Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We too, want to get back to a normal life. However, we need the help of all Pennsylvanians to make that happen."

Under the current rules, barbershops, salons, and gyms remain closed in the yellow phase. Youth sports are also not permitted. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing the governor to reconsider both of those restrictions.

RELATED: How Daily Life Changes In PA's Green Phase