EDEN, N.Y. — Eden Town Supervisor Melissa Hartman got a call Monday from a concerned resident.
The resident had seen a jump in Eden COVID cases on the Erie County’s website.
Hartman quickly checked the site and then called the County Executive’s office and was told the Health Department has been working over the weekend on a newly discovered cluster of COVID cases in Eden.
This was the first Hartman heard of it.
Just Wednesday morning, a news release was issued by the Health Department, saying that over the weekend testing had identified 38 new COVID cases in Eden. Contact tracing had linked the cluster of cases to a single source and that now the risk of continued virus spread was “very low.”
The source of the Eden cluster was not identified to the public or to Hartman, although she says a few locations were ruled out.
“I was assured it was not one of the two nursing homes here. I was also assured that it was not an irresponsible social gathering which was another concern of mine,” Hartman said.
A health department spokeswoman says the source of a virus outbreak is not disclosed unless tracing fails to identify close contacts of people who have tested positive.
Hartman says she accepts that explanation and does not want a person’s health privacy violated.
Still unanswered is how a significant COVID operation was running for a couple days in Eden without giving local government a heads-up.
2 On Your Side asked the Erie County Executive about the lapse in communication. We were referred to the Health Department, which has not yet responded to the question.
