Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf yesterday announced eight additional counties will move to yellow and 17 to green, effective at 12:01 a.m. May 29. Wolf said all remaining counties in red are expected to move to yellow by June 5 at 12:01 a.m.
Meanwhile in Adams County the two-week sum of new cases per 100,000 population has increased and again passed the 50-case mark used by the state as a criterion for staging. The county was below the 50 case cutoff between May 8 and May 20 but rose to 66 on May 23.
According to Governor Wolf, the state uses risk-based metrics from Carnegie Mellon University, including contact tracing and testing capability and a sustained reduction in hospitalizations as well as the 50 new cases per 100,000 population cutoff, to determine a county’s reopening status.
The state move counties from yellow to green if overall risk remains mitigated for fourteen days. It is not clear if the increase in cases will prevent Adams from being allowed to move into green status.
The eight counties moving to yellow on May 29 are Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Schuylkill.
The 17 counties moving to green on May 29 are Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren.
Counties that remain in red on May 29 and are expected to move to yellow by June 5 are Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.
“We know not only that we succeeded in slowing case growth, but that our actions, our collective decisions to stay at home and avoid social contact – we know that saved lives,” Gov. Wolf said. “My stay-at-home order did exactly what it was intended to do: It saved lives and it bought us valuable time.”
Gov. Wolf referred to a study by Drexel University that indicates that in Philadelphia alone, 60 days of staying at home resulted in more than 7,000 lives saved and prevented more than 68,000 people from needing hospitalization.
Wolf said over the past two weeks:
- The state has seen sustained reductions in hospitalizations. From May 8 when the first counties moved to yellow to yesterday, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized dropped by nearly one thousand – from 2,618 to 1,667.
- The number of COVID patients on ventilators shrank by about a third, from 505 to 347.
- New cases continue to decline: From May 8 to May 15, the state added 6,384 cases and from May 15 to 21, added 4,770.
- The current COVID-19 incidence rate in the state is 83.4 cases per 100,000 people. Two weeks ago, it was 113.6 per 100,000. Most other states are seeing their new case rate continue to increase or remain flat. Pennsylvania is one of just 19 states with new case-rate declines.
Green Metrics
Counties that have been in the yellow phase for the requisite 14 days have been closely monitored for the risk associated with transitioning to the green phase.
In the green phase, we will continue to take precautions, including reducing building capacity, encouraging teleworking, limiting visitation in certain high-risk environments, and preventing large entertainment gatherings.
“We continue to increase testing every day and are continuing to build our contact tracing capacity, as well,” Gov. Wolf said. “We are able to do these things, to be successful, to reopen in this manner because of the Pennsylvanians who have made tremendous sacrifices since the virus emerged in our state,” Gov Wolf said. “Thank you.
“I want to remember and honor all of those who we lost and give solace to their family and loved ones. The last two months have been trying and they have tested each of us, and I want to thank and acknowledge all the people of our commonwealth who have been called upon to upend their lives to keep their neighbors, friends and family safe.”