Delaware County Has 'High' Coronavirus Spread: CDC

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — As the coronavirus surges once again in Pennsylvania and the nation, Delaware County's level of spread has increased, federal officials said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Delaware County is one of 49 counties in Pennsylvania to have been elevated to a "high" level of coronavirus spread.

Another 14 Pennsylvania counties are in the "substantial" grouping, which is the next highest level.

In Delaware County, the most recent state data shows 426 newly reported cases since Aug. 13, an incidence rate of 75.2 per 100,000 people, and a 4.8 percent positive testing rate.

The categorizations are relevant as school districts form their health and safety plans for the 2021-22 school year. The CDC recommends that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in public if they are in a substantial or high transmission area.

Pennsylvania has vaccinated 80.7 percent of its 18 and over population with at least one dose. Officials say that nearly all new cases and hospitalizations are among the unvaccinated, although "breakthrough" cases among the vaccinated have occurred.

More notably, vaccinated individuals can transmit the virus without showing symptoms.

To date, 282,734 residents in Delaware County have been fully vaccinated; 33,626 have been partially vaccinated, per the state. According to the CDC, Delaware County is 85.3 percent vaccinated among those 18 and older.

The county has seen 47,411 confirmed cases and 1,429 deaths, state data shows.

Reporting by Justin Heinze