Franklin County is in crisis.
We are grappling with the devastating impacts of a global pandemic--on our economy, on our basic needs and resources, on our healthcare systems, and on our lives.
Unfortunately, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Data shows an alarming increase of COVID-19 cases in our community which are predicted to continue rising rapidly.
Think this isn’t happening in our community? It is:
- 160 have died of COVID-19 in Franklin County (as of December 12, 2020)
- Of those people, 108 have died since November 1. That’s 108 people in 43 days.
- 1,181 people in Franklin County tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week (December 6-12) compared to 58 people who tested positive in a one-week span two months ago (October 4-10)
- Of those, 244 people tested positive in one day on December 7 - the most in any single day to date (as of December 12, 2020)
- 118 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated at Chambersburg and Waynesboro Hospitals (as of December 13, 2020)
With the rate of infections growing, more people we know will fall ill. Some will recover just fine, others will battle for weeks or months, and others won’t survive.
We still have time to prevent more cases and more deaths in our fellow community members, but we have to act now.
Starting today, we need all of us to work together to slow the spread of this disease and help protect the health of our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and loved ones. We need to help prevent our healthcare systems from reaching maximum capacity.
To do this:
- Wear a mask, properly, whenever leaving home.
- Wash our hands, often.
- Stay home whenever possible. When unable to stay home, keep 6 feet apart from others.
- If symptoms arise, get tested right away*.
Each one of us here in Franklin County is affected by COVID-19**. It has a rippling impact on every aspect of our lives and we are all struggling with the constant challenges this pandemic presents.
We are in this together and we will get through this together, if we work together.
We stand in solidarity with this statement, with the Franklin County Commissioners, with our local healthcare heroes, and in our commitment to mitigate community spread of COVID-19.
Leadership from emergency responders groups and organizations have agreed to support this call to action:
If you would like your organization/business to be added on to this call to action, please fill out this form.
* For COVID-19 healthcare information, contact one of our local healthcare providers or visit their online COVID dashboards: WellSpan and Keystone Health. Click here for local COVID-19 Testing information (document with local testing resources to be added soon).
** Information and Community Resources to help you get through this crisis: