MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — As COVID-19 case totals and percentages rise, suburban Philadelphia officials are asking people to act with caution as Easter and Passover are celebrated this weekend.
“All of our numbers continue to go in the wrong direction," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said, even as the number of vaccinated people continues to climb.
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“Our numbers are ticking up. We are right back up to similar to where we were last spring.”
All four suburban counties are seeing an increase just as Easter and Passover occur, according to Pennsylvania's COVID dashboard.
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Montgomery, Chester and Delaware County's seven-day test positivity rate are all about six percent. Bucks County's seven-day positive rate is now 9.2 percent, while its seven-day average has risen to 279, the highest since February 2.
“As we are in Passover now, many families are on spring break, and of course we have Easter this Sunday. Just please, again, ask everyone to be safe. Be careful,” said Arkoosh.
“We’ve seen what’s happened after other holidays where families gathered together. Of course, everyone is so anxious to do that. If you’ve been vaccinated, that’s great. But if you haven’t been vaccinated, please really think twice about these gatherings.”
Both the CDC and Pennsylvania's COVID-19 guidelines say that fully-vaccinated people can get together indoors without masks, and without six-foot spacing. Similarly, fully vaccinated people can get together with non-vaccinated people from a single household, if the non-vaccinated people are at low risk for severe disease.
But when out in public, both the CDC and Pennsylvania health leaders say everyone still has to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.