Why you aren’t hearing about how many people have recovered from COVID-19

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. - Health officials in Montgomery County explained Thursday during their briefing that there is no real way for them to collect data on people who have recovered from COVID-19. 

The state doesn't require hospitals to report discharges. Health officials also said they don't have the bandwidth to track down everyone who has recovered.

"I wish we could talk about recoveries. So the problem is just a very simple one. The state does not require reporting of discharges. So if someone is admitted to the hospital, hopefully, the vast majority of them are getting discharged, but there's no requirement to report that," Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said. 

Dr. Arkoosh added, "And then, the far bigger number of people are just at home. Although we have staff checking in with them there's no definitive end point to say okay, I'm better. Usually the staff checks in on them for several days and if everything seems stable they focus their limited power on other people. "

To date, there are 313 cases of COVID-19 in Montgomery County and three deaths have been reported.

The map below illustrates where confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus exist across the world. See mobile version here.

FULL COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS

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