COVID-19 is on the rise again in Delaware County as the CDC places the county back into a high level of transmission category.

“When a county is designated as High Community Level Transmission, that is the highest warning signal that residents need to take additional precautions to prevent the spread of COVID -19,” especially to protect those people most vulnerable to the virus, said Delaware County Health Department Director Melissa Lyon.

That means masks are once again required in all county buildings, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.

In total, there have been 98,778 confirmed cases of COVID and 16,045 probable cases in the county, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

There have also been 1,875 county deaths related to the virus.

 The CDC upgrade, reported last Thursday, comes from a case rate of 261.85 per 100,000 population, with new cases in the 200s since the beginning of May.  On May 17, there were 204 cases, reaching 255 cases on May 12.

There were 36 COVID patients hospitalized in Delaware County in May, with six in Intensive Care Units and one on a ventilator.

Read more at the Daily Times about the rise in new COVID-19 cases.

CBS News looks at the rising national COVID numbers in this May 30, 2022 video.