Oneida County COVID rates falling, but slowly By Luke Perry
COVID-19 infection rates have fallen in Oneida County over the past few weeks. Dr. Kent Hall, Chief Physician Executive at Mohawk Valley Health System, says the numbers “are going in the right direction,” though “not awfully fast.”
This mirrors national trends. On Sunday, the U.S. reported 1,940 COVID-19 deaths, and 143,000 new cases, the lowest numbers since December 1.
New York State’s COVID-infection rate is 6.8 percent. Oneida County’s infection rate is 5.8 percent, lower than several other counties in the Mohawk Valley, including Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, and Schoharie.
Hall told Keeler in the Morning (WIBX in Utica) now is “not the time to stop doing what we need to do” to prevent the spread of COVID, including wearing masks and social distancing. Local health experts are cautiously optimistic about a decline in infection rates in February, but worry new COVID variants could produce a spike in March.
There have been 22 cases of the United Kingdom-COVID variant throughout New York state, including upstate, with recent diagnoses in Saratoga County and Warren County.
Proctor High School in Utica (wikipedia)
Local public schools continue to wrestle with whether to re-open campuses to students. Dr. Hall said it was a “mischaracterization” to suggest that COVID does not spread in schools.
“There is spread with any group in an enclosed location,” Hall explained, including a typical school day. Vigilant protective measures in schools have largely prevented them from becoming “super spreaders.”
Children are less likely to become symptomatic with COVID; however, this creates risks for parents and grandparents at home, if they encounter children who are asymptomatic positive.
Governor Cuomo recently approved the resumption of high-contact sports on February 1, such as football and basketball, if county health departments approve. Hall described this decision as “a little bit of a roll of the dice.”
“Lots of good testing” is needed for contact sports to be safe, Hall said, citing COVID infection dynamics in related professional sports organizations, like the National Football League and National Basketball Association.
Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Political Science at Utica College
