Montgomery County has been experiencing an upward trend of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations for the past several weeks, and due to this increase, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated Montgomery County as a High Level in its COVID-19 Community Level Framework.
As of the week ending July 15, the two-week incident case rate increased from 436.3 per 100,000 last week to 498.4 per 100,000 this week. The two-week incident rate (498.4 per 100,000) is 8.5 times higher compared to this time last year (57.2 per 100,000).
COVID-19 Community Levels are a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Take precautions to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 based on the COVID-19 Community Level in your area.
“As we move through the various phases of this pandemic it is important for us to make adjustments to the precautions that we take,” said Jennifer Wentzel, Montgomery County Health Commissioner.
When a county is designated at a high level in the CDC’s framework, the following actions are recommended:
- Wear a mask indoors in public regardless of vaccination status
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness
If you are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease, learn more about how to protect yourself with additional CDC recommendations for each COVID-19 Community Level.
Public Health along with our State and Federal partners will continue to monitor the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and make revised recommendations should conditions warrant.
