The Delaware County Health Department and its 53 full-time staff are “ready to go and chomping at the bit,” says Health Director Melissa Lyon, CPH.

All that’s left is approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.

Lyon is the county’s first health director, coming here from Erie, PA. With an annual salary of $170,000, she will command a budget of over $8.5 million.

A “meet the team” media and public event is scheduled for Feb. 22 to share what the department is working on.

 The goal of the new department will be to promote healthy communities, so people won’t have to seek medical care, removing barriers people may have to lead a healthy life, Lyon said.

Stating that “good health is good business,” Lyon said vibrant, healthy communities help businesses attract healthy workers. When we’re not healthy, the economy suffers.

 “The pandemic really demonstrated that – clearly,” she said.

The latest assessment of the COVID-19 situation is still out. The hope is that the community has hit large-scale immunity from infections, combined with vaccines to stop transmission, but the data is not yet there, she said.

 “I think that is to be seen, so we will hold our breath and be cautiously optimistic, “Lyon said.  

The New York Times is reporting that COVID-19 cases in Delaware County continue to decrease, but that the COVID risk of infection is still very high for unvaccinated people.

Last week, there was an average of 88 new daily cases reported in the county, a 67 percent drop from two weeks earlier. 

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has decreased in the last two weeks by 51 percent. Deaths have also decreased, with 71 new fatalities over the same period.

As of Feb. 16, the number of fully vaccinated people in the county is at 73 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 the Daily Times about the new health department.