Westmoreland County covid-19 transmission level rises, remains at 'substantial' level
Westmoreland County remained in the “substantial” level of covid-19 transmission this week, as it has been for more than a month.
As health officials expressed concern about the transmission risk related to Thanksgiving holiday travel and gatherings, Westmoreland ended the most recent seven-day period with a case level of 321.2 per 100,000 residents, according to the state Department of Health’s Covid-19 Early Warning Monitoring System dashboard.
That’s more than three times the 100 cases per 100,000 residents the state has set as a minimum benchmark for determining that a county is experiencing the highest level of transmission of the disease.
It represents a continued increase in case levels per 100,000 residents — up from 249.3 for the week ending Nov. 19 and 152.9 for the week ending Nov. 12. Westmoreland County also saw a positivity rate of 14.3% for the most recent week, up from 10.9% the previous week.
Westmoreland’s case numbers, ranking it 34th among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, were far from the worst of those recorded across the state over the past week. Union County topped the list, with 949 cases per 100,000 residents, followed by Mifflin County, with 915.1.
Regionally, Armstrong County ranked 30th, with 327.9 cases per 100,000 people, and Allegheny County was in 40th place, with 280.8. Those counties had respective covid-19 positivity rates of 14.1% and 9.7%.
Greensburg Salem extends remote learning
Several school districts have reacted to rising covid-19 case levels in the county and a new state directive on Monday requiring school within a substantial covid-10 county by Monday to either switch to full remote instruction or attest that the school is complying with health and safety guidelines, such as a requirement for all students and staff to wear face coverings in school buildings.
Greensburg Salem announced that it is extending virtual instruction for all students through Dec.4 because of the rise of covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County and the potential for virus transmission over the holiday weekend.
Students are slated to return to the classroom on Dec. 7 — not on Tuesday, as previously planned.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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