Montco COVID Cases, Positivity Rate Rise Again After Holidays

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — After weeks of seeing positive trends in most of its key coronavirus metrics, numbers are on the rise again in Montgomery County.

The rise comes following the holiday season and parallels increases that were seen statewide over the past seven days.

The county saw 2,638 new cases over the Department of State's most recently tracked seven-day period, which covers Jan. 1 to Jan. 7. That's an increase from last week's 2,367.

Pennsylvania's 58,945 new cases marked a 14-percent increase over the previous week. State officials noted they believed gatherings over the holidays have contributed to the spread, after warnings of similar spikes following last Halloween and Thanksgiving.

"We think this is an increase from the holidays," said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

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Montgomery County's percent positivity rate also climbed for a second straight week, from 11.3 percent to 11.6 percent. A week ago, local officials said this was a reflection of fewer tests being done around the holidays, but the increase has continued into the new year.

Similarly, the incidence rate per 100,000 rates has risen in Montgomery County from 284 to 317.

The hospitalization rate has also climbed in the county, though only slightly, up to an average daily number of 429, over last week's 426.

These numbers still remain well below the peaks of the surge seen in the area in November and early December. But it is a reversal of what had seemed to be the new trend in steady decreases, right as vaccine distribution to hospital workers in the first priority groups began to take flight.

On a positive note, other healthcare metrics remain steady or improving. The percentage of emergency room visits due to COVID-19 symptoms is down to 0.9 percent, from 1.2 percent, and average daily number of patients on ventilators has dropped even more notably in the county, from 59 to 47,