Delaware County Sees Decreases in Key Coronavirus Metrics

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Five of the six metrics the Pennsylvania Department of Health tracks on a county level decreased in Delaware County.

The metrics are part of the state's Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard, which paints a comprehensive picture of the impact and status of the virus in the community and the healthcare system at large. Recent data covers the seven days from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1.

Here are the six metrics, and how Delaware County fares in the most recent data reporting:

• Newly reported confirmed cases: The county reported 1,513 cases over the seven-day period, which is down from 1,729 the week before.
• Incidence rate per 100,000 residents: The incidence rate of the virus per 100,000 residents is now at 267.9 for the seven-day period, down from 306.2 the previous seven days.
• Average daily COVID-specific hospitalizations: The average daily COVID-specific hospitalization rate went down to 169.9 from 173 the week before.
• PCR testing positivity rate: The percent positivity rate on all coronavirus tests in Delaware County also went up last week. The PCR testing positivity rate is up slightly to 12.3 percent, well above the threshold for what's considered "concerning" at five percent. The week prior, it was 12 percent.
• Percent of hospital emergency department visits due to COVID-like illness: In Delaware County, 1.1 percent of visits to the ER are due to COVID-like illness, down slightly from 1.4 percent the week before.
• The average number of patients on ventilators: This figure also decreased over the past week. Most recently, the figure was 15.7, which was a decrease from 18.

Delaware County's total case count is nearly 30,000 with 29,227 cases identified to date. The county's death toll stands at 999.

The recovery rate in Delco is 76.48 percent and the number of negative tests in the county stands at 178,779.