Chesco COVID-19 Metrics Ticking Upward

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — We're enjoying a mostly maskless summer of fun in Chester County as COVID-19 diminished greatly by the end of June, but numbers have begun to tick upward.

Cases of COVID-19 in Chester County rose by 54 and the incidence rate went from 7 to 17 per 100,000 residents, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Friday.

Cases reported rose from 37 the week ended July 15 to 91 for the week ended July 22.

The incidence rate rose the most among metrics reported for Chester County. On July 15, the DOH reported an incidence rate of 7.0 per 100,000 for the previous seven days. on July 22, that number was 17.3, in the PA DOH weekly report. Chesco's incidence rate had been as low as 5.3 for the week of July 2.

After dipping very low, Chester County's positivity rate rose from 1.1 percent in the week ended July 15 to 2.3 percent in the week ended July 22. Positivity rate represents the percentage of COVID-19 tests given that are positive. At the end of June and the first week of July, Chester County's positivity rate dropped to below 1 percent, the DOH reported at the time.

Most recently, Hospitalizations fell from 4.1 to 5.4 on average daily, from the week ended July 15 to July 22. Emergency room visits for COVID-like symptoms went from 0.6 to 0.7 in that same week-to-week comparison.

One metric improved. Average daily patients on ventilators dropped from 0.3 to 0 for the week ended July 22.

The numbers represent a shift in direction after weeks of improved COVID-19 reports in Chester County and across Pennsylvania through the summer.

The delta variant of the coronavirus accounted for 11.9 percent of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania, according to recent data from the CDC. Philadelphia's acting health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, issued a statement on July 22 calling for all Philadelphians — even those who are vaccinated — to masks in all public indoor places.

The uptick comes after a solid drop in COVID-19 spread. On July 2, only 28 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the previous seven days in Chester County, as the County's positivity rate stayed below 1 percent a second week running, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The July 2 report from the state DOH said Chester County's incidence rate was 5.3 per 100,000 residents in the week ended July 2, down from 7.4 per 100,000 residents in the week before.

On July 1 the Chester County Health Department stopped publishing the county's COVID-19 information dashboard.

On July 9 the state's positivity rate on tests had fallen to 1.1 percent. Data from the CDC showed at that time Pennsylvania ranked 9th among the 50 U.S. states in the percentage of its population having received first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. For total doses administered, Pennsylvania ranked 5th among all 50 states.

But state metrics have taken a turn. Across Pennsylvania, there were 1,542 new COVID-19 cases reported in the week ended July 15 and 2,393 in the week ended July 22. Likewise, the state's positivity rate rose in that same week-to-week period from 12.0 to 18.7, the DOH reported.

The Chester County Health Department this week reminded residents to make sure they have had their second dose of the vaccine, and that it is not too late. Information on scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine in Chester County can be found here.

Read a report of Chester County's COVID-19 data from a month ago here. Read a July 20 story on the COVID-19 delta variant in PA here.

Justin Heinze and Max Bennett contributed to this report.

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