A group of Bucks County legislators recently urged Gov. Tom Wolf and Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania Department of Health secretary, to consider changing the metric being used to calculate whether to reopen Bucks County.
The current metric is 50 cases per 100,000 people. Occupants of long-term care facilities have attributed to the majority of the county’s hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. There has been very little community spread, according to Bucks County Department of Health Director David Damsker.
The lawmakers say they hope the state Department of Health can work with the Bucks County Health Department to determine when the county can safely reopen.
“We commend our County Health Department and Dr. David Damsker in their tireless efforts during this pandemic,” the letter said. “Their efforts also include a robust contact tracing process. This research is only possible if a county has a strong department of health, which the majority of the counties in the Commonwealth do not.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Bob Mensch (R-Bucks County) and Robert Tomlinson (R-Bucks County), and Reps. Frank Farry (R-Bucks County), Todd Polinchock (R-Bucks County), Meghan Schroeder (R-Bucks County), Craig Staats (R-Bucks County), Wendi Thomas (R-Bucks County), and Kathleen Tomlinson (R-Bucks County).