Aug. 22
Cortland County reported 10 cases of COVID-19 over the weekend of Aug. 20 and 21, raising the number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began to 12,003, the state Health Department reports.
Tompkins and Cayuga counties reported 62 new cases over that weekend, the state reported. The three counties had seen 54,112 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. The number of people who have died from the virus remains 380.
Wednesday
SYRACUSE — The State Department of Health will operate a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse during its entire 13-day run.
The clinic will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily inside the Exposition Center. Insurance is not required and there’s no charge for either vaccine or boosters.
“We want to ensure that every New Yorker has ample opportunities to protect themselves and their loved ones from the COVID-19 virus, regardless of whether they have a regular health care provider,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said. “As we prepare for a potential COVID-19 surge in the fall as schools begin, we know how to best limit serious illness from COVID-19: students and staff should get vaccinated and boosted. It’s that simple.”
“The New York State Fair is known for being a place that celebrates community,” said fair interim director Sean Hennessey. “That’s demonstrated through showcasing the best of New York agriculture and providing top-quality entertainment, but also in serving as an information and resource hub to help our neighbors.”
Friday
Improving COVID-19 vaccination rates and flu vaccinations are among the goals Cortland County's health agencies and health providers will spend the next two years working toward.
The Cortland County Community Health Improvement Plan, based on the Cortland County Community Health Assessment, will be the topic of a presentation 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom, county Public Health
Director Nicole Anjeski announced in a news release.
The plan focuses on three areas:
"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the overwhelming reality that a public health threat can affect the whole world," Anjeski said. "For more than two years now, communities have been facing this global public health threat. With this pandemic we have witnessed profound impacts on health status across communities and within the world's economic and political systems."
"As the community begins to return to a semblance of 'normalcy' while we move through the next phase of this pandemic, it is important to once again take a look at all the health indicators that affect the health of our community members," Anjeski said.
***
Cortland and Tompkins counties remained a low coronavirus risk, but Cayuga and Onondaga counties were elevated to medium risk, the CDC reported Thursday.
Cortland County had 48 new cases of COVID-19 between Aug. 18 and Wednesday, giving it a rate of 100.88 cases per 100,000 people, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
Saturday
Opioid overdose deaths doubled in 2021 from the year before, the state reports, as fentanyl-laced opioids combined with the complications the coronavirus pandemic brought to drug users and drug treatment.
Sixteen people died, states the latest quarterly report from the state Department of Health; all of the deaths were linked to fentanyl. Opioid use accounted for 39 emergency room visits in 2021, up from 24 the year before, a 63% increase.
Sixteen deaths is a high for Cortland, state data show, beating a peak set in 2017. The county saw nine overdose deaths in 2019, four in 2018, 13 in 2017 and eight in 2016.
The numbers are a bit different for Healing Cortland, a project affiliated with Cortland Area Communities that Care — that's because the state data come from death certificates while Healing Cortland's come from county coroners. But the nonprofit said 17 people died of opioid overdose, 16 of them from fentanyl. That's up from 14 the year before.
"We've seen an increase in fentanyl in the drug supply," said Project Director Sara Watrous. "The majority, if not all, of the opioid deaths were fentanyl-related. It's being mixed in with other drugs."
"Obviously everything happening with COVID and social realities, those various factors are contributing to that," she added. "This is not something one agency can deal with."
