Centre County moves out of CDC’s high COVID-19 community level. Here’s what that means

Centre County moved out of the high level of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new COVID-19 scale late Thursday afternoon.

The county is now at the medium level, which does not contain the CDC’s recommendation to wear masks while in public, indoor spaces.

Community levels are measured by the number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations during the past seven days and the average percent of staffed inpatient beds taken by COVID patients during the past week. These metrics “represent the current potential for strain on the health system,” the CDC said.

A handful of Pennsylvania counties were still at the high level, some of which border Centre to the south and east. Most of the state was at the low level.

During the seven-day period Feb. 24-March 2, there were 161 cases in Centre County and 99.15 cases per 100,000 people.

Through March 1, there were 10.5 new COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 people, and 11.5% of staffed inpatient beds were in use by COVID patients. If those numbers fall below 10 and 10%, respectively, the county would move to the low level.

Mount Nittany Medical Center was treating 12 COVID patients between ages 31 and 83 on Thursday. Patient totals were as high as 20 on Tuesday and fell to 17 on Wednesday, the dashboard showed.

Here’s what the level change means for Centre County:

Commissioners address masking, testing

Centre County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday morning that when the county’s COVID transmission status moves to “medium” or “low,” county government employees and the public will no longer be required to wear a face mask inside government buildings.

These changes do not apply to the county’s correctional facilities, as the CDC has specific requirements for congregate care facilities, Commissioner Michael Pipe said.

Additionally, employees who aren’t vaccinated against COVID will no longer need to be tested weekly when the county’s level is at medium or low. Commissioners approved that 2-1, with Pipe and Mark Higgins voting for it, and Steve Dershem voting against it. Dershem said he didn’t think the testing policy should have been implemented in the first place.

Though testing will no longer be mandatory, employees can still choose to be tested through the county’s partnership with AMI.

State College, Patton Township end mandates

State College announced Friday morning that the ordinance involving the borough’s mask mandate will no longer be in effect since the county transmission moved down to “medium.”

Patton Township posted on its website that its emergency masking ordinance is no longer in effect due to the new classification.

Penn State announces changes

Early Friday morning, Penn State announced that face masks will no longer be required in many indoor settings starting Monday — although the requirement will remain in effect in classrooms, labs and other academic and creative spaces.

Masks will also continue to be required where mandated by law or regulation, such as COVID testing centers, health care settings and public transportation.

SCASD to consider next steps

The State College Area School District will not immediately end its mask mandate.

Superintendent Bob O’Donnell said in a message to parents Tuesday that even if the county moves out of the high community level, the district will first need to create “plans for our documented high-risk individuals in a setting with reduced masking. For that to happen properly, we need sufficient time.”

The school board will hold a work session with the district’s health and safety team at 7 p.m. March 17 at the Patton Township Municipal Building to discuss the CDC guidance, O’Donnell said.

This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 7:06 PM.