BUFFALO, N.Y. — There are 62 residents who are now in quarantine in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, according to Erie County officials on Thursday.
Sixty of those people are in voluntary quarantine; the other two who are now in quarantine are considered mandatory.
Overall, there have been 136 Erie County residents who have completed the quarantine process.
The county's Department of Health confirmed that the Public Health Lab has been authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the numbers the county released:
- 17: county residents tested by a number of labs;
- 12: non-county residents who have been tested for coronavirus here. One person tested positive and 11 negative;
- 11: non-county residents tested by the Public Health Lab on Thursday;
- 9: county residents tested by the Public Health Lab on Thursday.
Erie County is strongly recommending that events with more than 250 attendees be canceled, and for older people in particular to avoid gatherings of more than 50 people.
The news conference was held less than 24 hours after Monroe County has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeting Wednesday night that "this test was performed and confirmed as positive today by the (Erie County Department of Health) professionals at our Public Health Lab. 4 tests of Erie County residents were also performed by the Lab today and they were negative."