Delaware County has no health department. That’s made it extremely difficult to deal with coronavirus cases in the county, which have to be handled remotely by the state.

That may soon change, if an agreement is approved between Chester and Delaware counties.

Right now, Delaware County is dependent on the Pennsylvania Department of Health to test, investigate, quarantine and monitor residents in Delaware County who have, or may have COVID-19.

If someone from Delaware County thinks they may have the virus, they have to call the state number- 1-877-PA-HEALTH for information and guidance instead of a local health office.

The County is also dependent on the state to receive information and updates but laws prohibit the state from naming the municipality where a patient lives, information on contact tracing or how many people have been quarantined as a result.

Having more information would allow the County to make more informed decisions and give better guidance to our residents, according to county officials.

County Council Chairman Brian Zidek believes more needs to be done for county residents.

“Council has been working to brainstorm ways we can achieve this immediately as we deal with this public health crisis,” he said.

On March 13, Chester County offered to have its Department of Health serve as Delaware County’s Department of Health.

The next day, Delaware County Council and the Chester County Board of Commissioners sent a letter to Governor Wolf.

The letter asked that the Chester County Health Department be authorized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its Department of Health to assume primary responsibility and work with Delaware County’s elected officials and staff on Delaware County’s public health response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Local elected leaders in the county,  Republican and Democrat, also sent Gov. Wolf letters of support.

An Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement was created, but the Pennsylvania Department of Health worried that Chester County may not have the resources to meet both county’s needs regarding COVID-19.

Chester County assured the state that they have conducted an analysis of their capacity, and they are confident they can serve both counties, according to a Delaware County press release.

The Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement is pending approval from Gov. Wolf.

If the agreement goes into effect it would mean expanded COVID-19 testing, local investigation and surveillance of COVID-19. COVID-19 quarantine designations, COVID-19 public health communication, daily emergency room monitoring in Delaware County hospitals and a public call center.

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