Chesco Among PA Counties Out Of COVID-19 Red Zone

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Chester County is one of 27 Pennsylvania counties no longer in the "red" zone for coronavirus outbreak severity, according to the most recent report by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

The report, released Jan. 24, classifies 40 of the state's 67 counties as being in the red zone. There are 17 counties in the "orange" zone and 10 in the "yellow" zone.

Several suburban Philadelphia counties have been downgraded out of the red zone. Chester and Montgomery counties were downgraded to"orange," while Philadelphia and Delaware counties made it into the lower "yellow" zone. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh remain in the red zone.

Counties that are in red zones have more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result of above 10 percent. Counties in the orange zone reported between 51 and 100 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 8 and 10 percent.

Yellow zone designated counties have reported between 10 and 50 new cases per 100,000 residents and a diagnostic test positivity result between 5 and 7.9 percent.

The latest report shows a 23 percent increase in new cases statewide from the week before, as well as a decrease in the test positivity rate. The state's test positivity rate stands at 10 as of Jan. 24, the report says. That's a decline of 2.1 percent.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Pennsylvania are also down. The report notes there were 6,802 new hospitalizations for the seven-day period ending Jan. 22. That's an 11 percent decline from the previous seven-day period ending on Jan. 15.

Chester County State DOH Data

Positive case counts in Chester County have fallen for four weeks running, and in the most recent 7-day comparison new COVID-19 cases dropped by 315, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Chester County's percent positivity rate is down to 8.4 percent in the state's weekly update, from 10 percent in the prior week. The measure, along with others the state reports, provides a better picture of how the virus is behaving in a specific place.

Dropping below the 10 percent positivity marker was important. The Pennsylvania DOH and Department of Education have made 10 percent positivity the line between "moderate" and "substantial" risk for community transmission of COVID-19.

The Jan. 22 state update also showed the county's incidence rate is down. This measure helps show the density of the population that has been infected, alongside just case counts. That number is down to 203 of every 100,000 residents, from 263 the week before.

That means approximately 1 in every 500 people in the county is testing positive for COVID-19.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, 591 people in Chester County have died of COVID-19, according to Chester County Health Department data.

The full report can be accessed here.

Kara Seymour contributed to this report.