Delaware County doesn’t have a health department, so Chester County is filling in during the coronavirus pandemic

After weeks of relying on the overtaxed Pennsylvania Department of Health for its coronavirus response, Delaware County is now receiving some help from its neighbor to the west, Chester County.

Officials from both suburban counties announced early Thursday that Gov. Tom Wolf had approved a request from Chester County’s health department to temporarily provide service to Delaware County. With about 565,000 residents, Delaware County is the most populous county in the state without its own health department.

Delaware County had 14 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Thursday morning and Chester County had 10, according to state data.

Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek, speaking at a news conference Thursday in West Chester, thanked his counterparts in Chester County.

“You learn a lot about people when the chips are down, and it’s one thing to answer the bell when it’s in your own backyard,” he said. "But it’s another to answer it when it’s in the distance. And so I’ve learned a lot about Chester County.”

Talks between leaders in both counties began last week, as the global pandemic began to take hold in the Philadelphia region. Officials have said the arrangement allows for faster distribution of information about individual cases as well as increasing capacity for testing for the virus, investigating positive cases, and designating quarantine areas.

As part of the agreement, Delaware County will reimburse Chester County for any expenses not covered by the state or federal governments, officials said Thursday.

Jeanne E. Casner, head of Chester County’s health department, said the county offered to help after confirming it had “sufficient excess capacity” to do so without sacrificing its work locally.

“We are ready, willing, able, and quite honored to do what is truly a public health response in opening up our boundaries and serving a critical area in Pennsylvania,” Casner said.

Casner’s office has requested information about Delaware County’s positive coronavirus cases from the state Department of Health, and will be analyzing it for contact tracing.

In recent days, Delaware County officials have bristled at the delay in receiving information from the state. At regular news briefings, council members have said they are unable to provide information on the age and hometowns of people who have tested positive for the virus in their county, as leaders in surrounding counties have done. The state Health Department cited privacy laws in not sharing that information.

» READ MORE: Facing coronavirus in Delaware County with no health department and high anxiety | Maria Panaritis

Notably, that included a maintenance worker at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility who tested positive last Friday, leading to a quarantine of inmates and other staff. Zidek said Thursday that he didn’t know about it until he was asked about it by an Inquirer reporter.

“Our efforts to keep the residents of Delaware County safe has been challenging,” Zidek said. “At times, it feels like we’re in a dark room wearing sunglasses in terms of trying to figure out what to do next.”

The lack of a health department was a prominent issue in Delaware County long before the virus swept the globe. In November, Democrats took control of the County Council for the first time. The three winning candidates — Elaine Schafer, Christine Reuther, and Monica Taylor — had said on the campaign trail that forming a health department was a priority.

After their sweeping victory, they commissioned an analysis of potential costs and benefits of starting a department. The results are expected to be released in coming weeks.