PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The end of a two-county government health department partnership is the latest sign that the COVID-19 crisis is easing up in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
After 16 months, the Chester County Health Department is ending its agreement to also cover Delaware County's COVID-19 health needs.
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Last March, Chester County agreed to help Delaware County with testing, contact tracing, communications and vaccinations, since Delaware County doesn't have a health department.
“The partnership between Chester and Delaware counties provided a focused public health response for everyone living and working in both counties. It worked because we all had one desire: To do everything that we could to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and to keep all of our residents as healthy as possible," said Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz in a statement.
“It also worked because, when we asked our Health Department Director Jeanne Franklin if her team had the capacity to support Delaware County, she and her team replied that not only did they have the capacity, but they truly wanted to provide support if needed. For that, we all thank her and everyone on her team.”
The agreement officially ends August 1.
“We owe the Chester County Health Department, the Chester County Commissioners and their team a debt of gratitude. The assistance they provided was quite literally life-saving," said Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek in the statement.
Delaware County is working to set up a county health department with plans to launch at the start of next year.