The state’s Department of Human Services announced this week that it would adhere to guidance from state health officials regarding eased restrictions at long-term care facilities.

While it’s good news that the state’s numbers justify a more relaxed approach for the moment, national trends indicate that the state should remain vigilant.

Seniors are among the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 967 long-term care facilities in the state have seen outbreaks — ranging from one or two cases to more than 100 — during the course of the pandemic.

In Butler County, a total of 44 cases have been detected among patients at 16 long-term care facilities, where 33 staff members have also been infected, according to the most recent state Department of Health figures.

The latest guidance from the state’s Department of Health enables long-term care facilities to resume allowing visits, albeit with expanded protocols for testing and sanitization requirements for visitors.

Butler County reached the low threshold with a less than 5% positivity rate this week after being in the moderate threshold — at exactly 5% — the week before.

Under Department of Health guidance, long-term care facilities in moderate threshold counties are recommended to test all asymptomatic residents who have had outside contact in a two-week period, while testing among asymptomatic staff members takes place every 30 days.

Counties in the low threshold are not required to routinely test asymptomatic patients, and asymptomatic staff members are tested every four to six weeks.

It’s good news that Butler County has slipped slightly out of the moderate threshold into the lower one, but it’s possible it will return to a higher one if state numbers follow national trends this fall.

Although life appears to be getting somewhat back to normal with school in session and people spending more time with others, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that about 150,000 more people will die from COVID-19 by the end of the year.

This week saw increases in the number of cases in 22 states. Thankfully, Pennsylvania is currently not among those states.

But if cases spike again this fall, seniors will continue to be the population most at risk. Should that happen, we hope the Department of Human Services — which oversees long-term care facilities — will reinstitute more frequent testing among its population and staff.

It’s better to stay ahead of the problem than wait for it to return.

— NCD