COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Case Numbers Dropping In Montco

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Coronavirus statistics in every key category measured by the state Department of Health have showed continued improvement in Montgomery County over the past week, as the most severe numbers of the fall and winter surge could be behind the region.

The numbers come from the state's Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard, which tracks six metrics on a county by county basis to measure the course and strength of the virus. The most recent statistics cover the period from Dec. 18 to Dec. 24.

In Montgomery County, there have been more positive signs for a week or two now. But this marks the first week that every metric has declined. Especially of note is the hospitalization rate, which is finally in decline after weeks of rising and concerns from local officials about overloaded emergency rooms.

The county's average daily hospitalizations over that most recently tracked seven day period sits at 449. That's down from 526 last week.

Other healthcare metrics also dropped, like the percentage of emergency room visits due to coronavirus symptoms, which fell from 1.1. percent to 0.9 percent.

It's a welcome sign for Montgomery County hospital workers who have had another good piece of good news over the past two weeks: the arrival of the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine.

>>As Vaccines Arrive, Montco Hospitals Hope For 'Normalcy In 2021'

Similarly, the average daily percentage of COVID-19 patients on ventilators dropped from 52.7 percent to 49.3 percent.

Perhaps the most significant drop is in the overall case numbers. Two weeks ago the weekly case number was 3,307; that fell to 3,011 the week following, and was down to 2,468 this week.

Meanwhile, the percent positivity rate on all coronavirus tests is back down to 10.5 percent. It's seen a similar drop as case numbers, falling from 11.9 and 11.4 in the preceding weeks. However, 10.5 percent remains more than double the CDC threshold for "concerning," which is 5 percent.

A sixth metric, incidence rate per 100,000 residents, shows the county's numbers at 297 this week, down from 365.

All of these numbers are significantly better than Pennsylvania's statewide numbers. While declining slightly, the state positivity rate remains at 15.1 percent.