Delaware County has formed a unique public-private partnership between its new health department and Personic Health Care to open a countywide COVID-19 testing facility at the Delaware County Emergency Services Training Center in Sharon Hill, writes State Sen. Tim Kearney, Delaware County Council Chairman Dr. Monica Taylor, and Dr. Azmat Husain in an article for WHYY.

Hundreds of residents each day can now receive rapid antigen and PCR COVID-19 tests at no cost — regardless of insurance or immigration status.

“This partnership doesn’t just expand access to testing, it also removes financial barriers that disproportionately impact immigrant communities, low-income families, and people of color — groups that have long suffered from health inequities,” the article states.

Public-private partnerships are critically important for a swift pandemic response.

Personic has administered more than 100,000 COVID-19 tests since the beginning of the pandemic. It owns its own testing lab so residents can have PCR test results back within 24 hours.

“Our public-private partnership provided an innovative solution to address a critical health care gap in our community and works together to close gaps in our health care system and meet the critical needs of our community,” the article states.

The New York Times is reporting that the number of COVID-19 cases in Delaware County has continued to decrease but is still ranked an extremely high risk for unvaccinated people.

Last week, there was an average of 222 new daily cases reported in the county, which is a 44 percent decrease compared to the two weeks prior. Since the start of the pandemic, at least 1 in 6 residents have been infected by COVID-19, totaling 107,637 reported cases.

January 2022 saw the highest average cases.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has decreased in the last two weeks by 47 percent. Deaths have also decreased, with 82 new fatalities over the same period.

Meanwhile, as of Feb. 10, the number of fully vaccinated people in the county is at 72 percent. This includes 77 percent of fully vaccinated residents aged 5 and up and 95 percent of fully vaccinated people aged 65 and up.

Read more about the COVID-19 situation at The New York Times.

Read more at WHYY about the effort to provide free COVID test kits to Delaware County residents.