MAYVILLE – The COVID-19 situation in Chautauqua County is holding steady.
The county entered the weekend with a total of 27 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, and as of Sunday afternoon, the number remained unchanged.
Confirmed cases are those that have been identified through a positive test result administered by a patient’s primary care physician. Because testing is extremely limited with less than 0.5% of the county’s total population being tested, County Health Commissioner Christine Schuyler has said that residents need to treat the virus as if it were widespread in their community.
County health officials say of the 27 confirmed cases, 3 remain active, 21 people are considered recovered, and 3 people have died.
A total of 39 people remain under quarantine/isolation orders by the County Public Health Director and are being monitored. Not all of those being monitored are confirmed to have COVID-19 but have either shown symptoms, are awaiting results, or have risk factors such as living in the same home as a person who tested positive or who traveled to a high-risk area.
Health officials say so far, a total of 569 COVID-19 tests administered in the county have also come back negative.
Priorities for testing include:
- Hospitalized patients (including those in the ER who will be admitted).
- Symptomatic healthcare workers including but not limited to those working in hospitals, ERs, urgent care centers, medical offices, nursing homes, home care, private duty, and EMS. Because of their often extensive and close contact with vulnerable patients in healthcare settings, even mild signs and symptoms of COVID-19 should be evaluated among potentially exposed healthcare personnel.
- Symptomatic residents of Skilled Nursing or Adult Care Facilities.
- Symptomatic persons who have underlying comorbidities such as chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma; serious heart conditions; diabetes; chronic renal disease; and liver disease.
- Symptomatic persons who are immunocompromised such as those undergoing cancer treatment, bone marrow or organ transplantation; those with immune deficiencies, HIV or AIDS; or with prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications.
- Symptomatic essential workers with person-to-public contact including but not limited to Public Health staff, child care staff, jail/prison staff, first responders such as law enforcement, child protective services, and firefighters, and store/business personnel.
The health department says that it is important for individuals in these priority populations to consult with a healthcare provider and be referred to one of the testing sites in the county.
“While the supply is better, we still do not have ample testing capabilities to test individuals who are not displaying symptoms of COVID-19 infection,” County Executive PJ Wendel said on Monday.
Meanwhile in New York State, there have now been over 248,000 confirmed cases and more than 18,000 deaths as of Monday morning.
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