The Chester County Department of Health will coordinate COVID-19 response efforts in both Chester and Delaware counties going forward.
“Delaware and Chester counties have a long history of working together and supporting each other,” Chester County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Marian Moskowitz said at a joint press conference Thursday in West Chester. “Chester County does have sufficient extra capacity to handle Delaware County’s public health needs as well as Chester County’s.
“We are all in this together.”
What that means is that officials will be more closely able to track, respond, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Delaware County, something they hadn’t been able to do since the county had no health department. Instead, like 56 other counties in Pennsylvania, it relied on the Pennsylvania Department of Health for information and more.
Delaware County Council Chairman Brian P. Zidek gave a “heartfelt thank-you from the citizens of Chester County to the citizens of Delaware County.
“I find it remarkable Chester County was able to step up.”
Zidek described Delaware County’s response to the pandemic up until now as “challenging,” comparing it to wearing sunglasses in a dark room. He said he wasn’t notified that a Delaware County prison guard had tested positive for the virus until an Inquirer reporter called him.
But that will change with the Chester County health department’s involvement.
Officials from both counties asked the governor’s permission for the Chester County Health Department to act as the temporary health department for Delaware County for the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are truly taking this as a heartfelt combined effort,” said Chester County Health Department Director Jeanne Casner.
The health department will be able to trace cases and contacts, and analyze data, which will direct how both counties respond to the ever-changing pandemic. Casner expects to soon have Delaware County-related data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
“We are ensuring we have appropriate access to all case-related data,” Casner said, adding that the data would then be reported to Delaware County officials.
As part of the agreement, Delaware County will reimburse Chester County for any COVID-19 expenses not already reimbursable by the state or federal government.
Delaware County Council, the department of emergency services, and other agencies “have been coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and local hospitals to provide drive-through testing at local hospitals and additional locations,” said Delaware County Council Vice Chairwoman Dr. Monica Taylor, adding that a physician’s referral is required for all testing.
She cited the Delaware County Citizen Corps as a “critical component” of the county’s response so far to the pandemic. Its volunteers work with the Delaware County Department of Emergency Services “to augment our existing first responders and emergency management staff during times of a major emergency or disaster in or around Delaware County,” according to the group’s website (delcocitizencorps.com).
“This all-volunteer organization is vital to how our residents are protected,” Taylor said. “Residents can do the greatest good for the greatest number by volunteering with the Citizen Corps.”
The Pennsylvania Health Department is giving daily updates on the spread of COVID-19.
As of March 19, Chester County has 10 positive cases, two each in East Marlborough, East Goshen and West Chester, and one each in Malvern, North Coventry, Willistown, and West Pikeland, according to Casner. All of the people are at home with mild symptoms, and all are on the path to recovery.
The age groups with the most cases are those 30 to 39 years old and 50 to 59 years old, with four cases in each group.
The latest information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health lists five new cases in Delaware County as of 2 p.m. March 18. That brings the total to 14.
Statewide there are 185 cases, with one fatality.
A video of the joint press conference may be found here.
About Monica Fragale
Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies. She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field. But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard. Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Comments