Health officials in Chautauqua County are concerned about the increase in COVID-19 related cases in the northern part of the county.
There are currently 105 active cases. Those people are in mandatory isolation. Their close contacts are in mandatory quarantine.
Thirty-six new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the health department between August 29 and August 31. Twelve of those cases are tied to the outbreak at the Fieldbrook Foods processing plant. There are a total of 75 cases connected to the plant.
Here is the age range of the 36 cases from this past weekend:
- 5 persons under the age of 18
- 6 males in their 20’s
- 5 females in their 20’s
- 2 females in their 30’s
- 1 male in his 30’s
- 4 females in their 40’s
- 1 male in his 40’s
- 2 females in their 50’s
- 1 male in his 50’s
- 4 females in their 60’s
- 1 male in his 60’s
- 1 male in his 70’s
- 1 female in her 70’s
- 1 male in his 80’s
- 1 female in his 80’s
“Today, we have 105 active cases of COVID-19 in the community. For the first half of August we experienced, on average, 13.6 active cases per day, with an active case rate of 1.07 per 10,000 in Chautauqua County,” reported Breeanne Agett, Epidemiologist with DHHS. “We are currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases that is nearly 8 times greater than we see on average.”
“We’ve been cautious to share case information only by fire battalion because we were dealing with small numbers. Using aggregated data such as this is appropriate to minimize the need for data suppression,” said Christine Schuyler, County Public Health Director. “We are now dealing with a surge of cases and these higher numbers allow us to share more specific data and not breach confidentiality.”
Here are the active case numbers per 10,000 residents. (% of county total).
- Dunkirk: 60 (57%) 47.96
- Fredonia: 14 (13%) 13.33
- Jamestown: 25 (24%) 8.52
“We are working with everyone we think of - local elected officials, college and school officials, community organizations, health care providers, emergency responders, law enforcement, churches, and community leaders – in an effort to help everyone stay abreast of the situation, deploy education and information, and get the entire community to stop this outbreak,” added Schuyler.
Health officials ask residents to protect themselves; wear a mask when you can't social distance, wash your hands, clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and avoid large gatherings.
New York State has a free rapid test site set up at the Dunkirk Fire Murphy Training Grounds at 665 Brigham Road. I will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Wednesday by appointment only. All residents are eligible for tests and appointments can be made by calling 833-697-8764. Results are available in 15 minutes.
