Masks Now Recommended For All In Montgomery County, CDC Says

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Spiking coronavirus rates in Montgomery County have led the CDC to recommend universal masking here, as well as in several other counties across Pennsylvania.

All told, the CDC now recommends that 25 counties across the state wear masks in public indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Those counties are reporting either high or substantial community spread of the coronavirus as of data provided Tuesday. That's up from nine counties the week before that were designated as having high or substantial spread.

The news comes as Montgomery County saw its percent positivity rate spike again, up to 3.2 percent. That's an increase of nearly a point from 2.4 percent last week. As recently as just a few weeks ago, amid climbing vaccination rates, this rate stood at 0.5 percent.

But the "pandemic of the unvaccinated" has surged again as pockets of resistance to the shots remain, and as the more contagious delta variant grows its presence in Pennsylvania.

The total number of new cases also increased from 159 to 310, according to the most recently tracked seven-day period, covering July 23 to July 29.

This guidance comes afteraltered school masking recommendations were released from the CDC, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Montgomery County last week.

Among the counties now with substantial spread are the five with the largest populations, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: Philadelphia (1.6 million), Allegheny (1.2 million), Montgomery (830,000), Bucks (628,000), and Delaware (567,000).

According to the latest data from the state Department of Health, 63.2 percent of Pennsylvania residents age 18 and older are fully vaccinated as of Aug. 1.

Here are the one-dose adult vaccination rates for the 24 counties with substantial spread:

• Clarion: 47.3 percent.

• Beaver: 49.2 percent.

• Indiana: 49.7 percent.

• Somerset: 52.1 percent.

• Clearfield: 54 percent.

• Lawrence: 54.3 percent.

• Warren: 57.1 percent.

• Adams: 57.6 percent.

• Lebanon: 61.9 percent.

• Pike: 62.1 percent.

• Armstrong: 63 percent.

• Monroe: 64.2 percent.

• Wyoming: 66.8 percent.

• Butler 67.3 percent.

• Luzerne: 69 percent.

• Dauphin: 70.3 percent.

• Lancaster: 70.3 percent.

• Philadelphia: 72.4 percent.

• Washington: 74.2 percent.

• Allegheny: 78.3 percent.

• Bucks: 80.9 percent.

• Northampton: 82.2 percent.

• Delaware: 82.7 percent.

• Montgomery: 95.7 percent.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Eric Heyl