Delco Adds COVID Mitigation Efforts, Requests More State Help

Max Bennett
·3 min read

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — The Delaware County Council Wednesday implemented immediate actions to further address the increasing coronavirus positivity rate and voted to ask Gov. Tom Wolf take additional measures to prevent the virus's spread in the state.

At its meeting Wednesday, the council voted four to one to pass a resolution asking Wolf and the Department of Health to enact more coronavirus mitigation measures.

The resolution outlined the following mitigation efforts:

  • Masks are required at food establishments except when a patron is eating or drinking

  • Limiting the number of individuals at a food establishment dining table to four (this pertains to inside and outside dining)

  • Limiting inside gatherings to ten people or fewer

These requested additional measures were determined by the council and the Chester County Health Department.

>>>RELATED: Delco Residents Urged To Limit Thanksgiving Events To 1 Household<<<

As for local effort to reduce increasing positivity rate in Delaware County, the council instated the following:

  • Approved an agreement with Visit Delco to promote the safe support of businesses during the holiday season

  • Launch communications campaigns to stress and encourage the behaviors that help contain the transmission of the COVID-19 virus throughout the community

  • Promote additional holiday guidance as provided by the Chester County Health Department

  • Many county departments have or will return to primarily hybrid and reduced in-person staffing models. Some services will only be provided virtually or on an appointment-only basis. The number of in-person meetings will be minimized.

"The additional mitigation efforts are not as strict as some put into place in neighboring counties," Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek said. "The efforts call on residents to display personal responsibility and further reduce the spread of the virus by limiting close contact with people outside of your immediate family. The common goal is to protect the community and not put our schools and businesses in danger of being shut down again."

Delaware County does not have an Act 315 Health Department and must rely on PA Department
of Health to enact mitigation strategies in the county. The resolution will be presented to Governor Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health for consideration.

At the height of the pandemic, Delaware County saw 232 cases a day. On Nov. 18, the county reported 287 cases, bringing the total of positive cases to 17,184.

Additionally, Delaware County has lost 836 residents to the coronavirus.

The county is nearing a seven-day percent positivity rate of 10 percent.

Since Nov. 9, Delaware County hospitals have had to divert patients because they had reached
capacity and/or did not have enough essential healthcare workers to treat patients. Hospitals continue to see an increase in COVID-19 admissions.

Essential emergency service and healthcare workers are being strained, and that directly affects the entire community. There are fewer 911 operators to take the calls, there are fewer police, fire and EMS to respond, when a patient arrives at the ER they may be diverted to another hospital in another county, and if the ER is open- the patient will likely experience a much longer wait time.

The state, including Pennsylvania State Police, will enforce any new or existing state or county guidance.

This article originally appeared on the Haverford-Havertown Patch