ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced 11 more COVID-19 deaths on Friday evening, bringing the total to 357.
Poloncarz made the announcement on Twitter. He said the county Department of Health is reporting 4,333 confirmed positive Covid-19 cases out of 24,488 samples tested.
Poloncarz says that they did not receive any data on Wednesday or Thursday night regarding hospitalizations in Erie County from New York State.
Statewide data is showing a decline in hospitalizations.
Of deaths in Erie County, 22.8 percent were ages 70 to 79, 52.9 percent were above age 80. This means that 75.7 percent of deaths in Erie County were someone over age 70.
African American individuals make up 19 percent of deaths in Erie County.
The county encourages everyone to continue to take precautions, especially those who are most vulnerable to complications of the virus or live with vulnerable people.
Poloncarz says there has been a significant issue at the Absolut Care Nursing Home in Aurora. The New York State Department of Health is being involved in the response there.
Erie County says they will continue to test any individual who is concerned that they may have been exposed, even if they are not symptomatic.
Dr. Gale Burstein, the Erie County health commissioner, also explained the difference between diagnostic testing and antibody testing.
Diagnostic testing will tell you if you were shedding the virus at the time your sample was taken. The sample is taken with a nose swab and looks for the virus's DNA/RNA. A positive result means you will need to be isolated and participate in contract tracing.
Antibody testing will tell you if you have past exposure to the virus, and should be done at least three weeks after symptoms end. A positive result only means that you were already exposed to the coronavirus and that you have developed antibodies, it does not necessarily mean you are immune to future infection.
Some antibody tests have been known to produce false negative or false positive results. You should make sure that you receive an FDA approved test.
Dr. Burstein also said that no matter what test you are planning to receive, if you have a primary care doctor you should be in touch with them about your situation.
Isolation orders in Erie County only apply to individuals with symptoms. If you are asymptomatic you are not under the isolation order unless you start to exhibit symptoms before you receive your results.
The county has created a new personal protective equipment (PPE) vendor list. Businesses can find local vendors to purchase from using this list.
Erie County distributed packs of nitrile gloves, eye protection, face shields, face masks and hand sanitizers to 108 fire and EMS agencies, as well as 31 law enforcement agencies.
Poloncarz went over data about the Medical Examiner's Office Suicide Investigations, showing that so far 36 people have died by suicide in 2020, but statistically the number is not far off from past years at this point.
Anyone who is in a crisis situation is encouraged to call 716-834-3131 to speak with someone at Crisis Services. Anyone can call this phone number for help and resources.