ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed Wednesday afternoon that 12 residents in the county have died from coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Erie County Department of Health says the most recent death was a male in the age range for 80 and above.
As of 10:25 p.m. Wednesday, Erie County had 603 positive cases of COVID-19, which included 509 active cases. The county says 81 people have recovered.
As of Tuesday 127 individuals were hospitalized. Of those individuals, 55 people are currently in ICU, and 54 of those have an airway assist, according to the Erie County Department of Health.
The majority of the cases range in age from 20 to 70 years old.
The current number of confirmed cases in Erie County communities include:
- 246 cases in Buffalo
- 107 in Amherst/Williamsville
- 43 in Cheektowaga/Sloan
- 31 in Hamburg/Blasdell
- 25 in West Seneca
- 24 in Tonawanda/Kenmore
- 20 in Clarence
- 19 in Lancaster/Village
- 18 in Orchard Park/Village
- 14 in Grand Island
- 11 in Aurora/East Aurora
- 9 in Elma
- 8 in Alden/Village
- 5 in Lackawanna
- 5 in Evans/Angola
- 4 in North Collins/Village
- 3 in City of Tonawanda
- 2 in Newstead/Akron
- 2 in Holland
- 2 in Concord/Springville
- 1 in Eden
- 1 in Boston
- 1 in Colden
- 1 in Marilla
During a media conference Wednesday, Poloncarz announced several emergency orders, which went into effect at 3 p.m.
The first order requires any Erie County employee to stay at home if they are sick. Also under the emergency order, supervisors in county government have the power to send a sick employee home. In addition, members of the public will be denied access from any county building if they appear sick.
Poloncarz added in a tweet, "We need to protect our county workers who are on the front lines fighting against this pandemic."
Poloncarz also announced all non-emergency client appointments at the Erie County Department of Social Services have been suspended. In-person assistance is also being restricted. Poloncarz says you can do almost everything via phone or online.
During the media conference Poloncarz also reminded residents to pay their rent. On March 20, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that no evictions can take place for 90 days. However, Poloncarz says this is not a free pass to stop paying your rent.
Poloncarz added that if you are looking for assistance with child care, you can fill out a survey here.