Saucon Source (https://sauconsource.com/tag/cases/)
It’s certainly not the list most counties would want to top, but Lehigh and Northampton counties are currently ranked #1 and #2, respectively, among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties for the average number of new COVID cases they are reporting per 100,000 residents.
The post-holiday surge in COVID cases many public health experts feared appears to be in full swing in places like Lehigh County, which reported a new daily case record Tuesday.
It will be harder for some Lehigh Valley residents who depend on the Lehigh & Northampton Transportation Authority’s (LANTA’s) bus service to get around the area Monday, after LANTA announced the cancellation of some Jan. 3 trips on its routes due to what it said is “a high level of absences among bus drivers due to COVID 19.”
The 2021-2022 school year is more than a month old, and the good news so far is that most districts have been able to avoid shutting down schools due to COVID outbreaks.
For Lehigh University students, faculty and staff looking to have a normal fall semester, thanks to COVID-19, it has been anything but that so far.
As the highly-transmissable Delta variant’s spread has coupled with falling vaccination rates, COVID-19 statistics around the U.S. and in Pennsylvania have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. And in Northampton County, where a key indicator of the virus’ spread has placed it at a Very High risk level, the numbers may be particularly troubling.
The pandemic may feel like it’s in the past, but the danger to Northampton County residents from COVID-19 isn’t over; particularly if they are unvaccinated and especially because new data shows the county has one of the highest infection rates in the state.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has announced changes to its face mask mandate to reflect new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, but the relaxed restrictions only benefit individuals who are already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and come amid a rise in new case numbers in parts of the Commonwealth.
The Saucon Valley School District is closely monitoring the number of new COVID-19 cases in two of its schools, Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler told parents in an email Tuesday.
A spike in COVID-19 cases has resulted in the temporary closure of Saucon Valley High School.