Onondaga County confirmed five deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday, the largest single-day death toll in the county since the outbreak began.

The patients ranged in age from their 50s to 90s, and included three men and two women. Some of the individuals had underlying health conditions, County Executive Ryan McMahon said at a media briefing. Seventeen people in total have now died of the virus in the county.

Coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected 222,284 people and killed 12,192 in New York state. Officials have confirmed 16 cases since Wednesday, raising the total confirmed cases in Onondaga County to 597.

Every town and municipality in the county now has at least one confirmed case, McMahon said. No cases have been confirmed within the Onondaga Nation.

Although more densely-populated communities have experienced a higher number of reported cases, residents should continue practicing social distancing and remain aware of the virus, he said.

“The numbers are staggering,” he said. “I think overall when you look at the number of cases and what this virus does, our community has fared well to this day.”

The Onondaga County Health Department is currently monitoring 283 active cases, which account for individuals who’ve contracted COVID-19 but have not recovered or died. More than 1000 people are in isolation or quarantine because of their relation to an active case. Six people have recovered since Wednesday, with 279 total recoveries now confirmed.

The county confirmed its first cases of the COVID-19 on March 16, exactly one month prior to Thursday’s briefing. Data trends concerning hospitalization and testing have remained relatively consistent since then, McMahon said.

Around 18 to 20% of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 have required hospital treatment within the past month, McMahon said. There are 52 individuals currently hospitalized, and four people have been admitted for care since Wednesday.

Of the 7,618 tests that have been administered, 579, or 7.7%, have come back positive. That percentage has stayed fairly constant, McMahon said. Of the positive cases, between 10 and 20% of have resulted from household contacts.

Officials are now expecting to receive 122 test results, McMahon said.

McMahon expects future infection and recovery data to favorably reflect social distancing practices as the county’s voluntary shelter-in-place order remains in effect until April 21.

Restarting the economy will rely on the county’s ability to work with its COVID-19 tracking team and primary care providers to ensure rapid testing, he said.

““Economic recovery doesn’t need to wait for a restart,” he said. “There’s companies operating right now that are hiring right now, and if you’re out of work please look at those options.”

The county is also transitioning to adopt a testing strategy that better targets nursing home employees. Officials are now working with hospitals and a potential site at Walmart to prioritize rapid testing capacity for those workers, including people who don’t show symptoms, McMahon said.

Testing more nursing home employees will help officials mitigate the risk of infection to more vulnerable patients in those homes, McMahon said. The Walmart drive-through testing site could open as soon as Friday.

Published on April 16, 2020 at 9:49 pm

Contact Marnie: ammunozc@syr.edu