Thursday
Cortland, Tompkins and Cayuga counties all reported COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday – the second for the week, in Cayuga’s case, bringing to 391 the number of people who have died of the virus since the pandemic began in March 2020.
In Cortland County, 129 people have died; with 167 deaths in Cayuga County and 95 in Tompkins County.
Friday
The 17 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Tuesday at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center was a hospitalization rate the greater Cortland area has seen in a long time.
However, it's not a huge cause for alarm, said hospital President Jennifer Yartym, because 10 of those 17 people were admitted for reasons other than COVID — the virus was detected in routine testing as they were admitted.
On the other hand, said Cortland County Public Health Director Nicole Anjeski, spikes like that are what one must expect when less than 60% of the county's population has had two shots of COVID-19 vaccine.
"We have seen an increase in hospitalizations, unfortunately this is not a surprising statistic with the low vaccination rates in our county," Anjeski said Thursday in an email.
"We're seeing an uptick," Yartym said. "It has not had an overall impact on our care."
COVID, she added, "hasn't ever gone away. It's kind of the new normal."
In fact, the number of hospitalizations was down to 13 by Wednesday, with seven of those patients admitted for other reasons, and the virus discovered only during admissions testing.
"It's kind of the normal ebb and flow," she said, exacerbated as people relax their guard. "There's just a decline in masking."
Still, people can take steps to protect themselves from the virus, and from spreading it to others, Anjeski said. "What people can do to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated, by either beginning their initial series or by receiving the newest bivalent booster dose, if eligible," she said.
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Cortland County remained a medium risk of COVID-19 spread, the federal government reported Thursday, although Cayuga, Onondaga and Madison counties were elevated to high risk, triggering advice to wear a mask in all indoor public spaces.
Tioga and Broome ounties, however, were dropped to medium risk from high risk.
Cortland County had 63 new cases of COVID-19 between Oct. 6 and Wednesday, giving it a rate of 132.41 cases per 100,000 people, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
