BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side is still working to obtain information many of you have asked us to provide on a more consistent basis, regarding one of the most important data sets that Gov. Andrew Cuomo may use in deciding when to reopen parts of New York State.
A regional, phased-in lifting of the statewide shutdown ordered by Cuomo that closed schools, businesses, and left millions unemployed will be tied largely to the so-called curve, and specifically how rapidly COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising or falling in a given part of the state.
“We will continue to follow numbers, follow data, and talk to experts," Cuomo repeated at his daily briefing to reporters on Thursday.
What's our curve?
While Cuomo has been consistent in presenting the latest hospital curves on a daily basis, he has been providing them in the form of a statewide snapshot.
However, with the regional hospitalization numbers being so key in decisions to be made about a phased in reopening, many viewers have contacted us, asking us to post them on a consistent and daily basis.
The New York State Department of Health does not post those figures on its website. Its “COVID-19 Tracker" reveals data on testing numbers and deaths on a county by county and town by town basis.
Erie County’s website breaks down the number of confirmed cases by town and zip code but does not offer a glimpse into the current number of those hospitalized or discharged.
According to sources, the state provides this information to counties on a daily basis.
We know that County Executive Mark Poloncarz has access to it, and he has shared it sporadically on Twitter, or during his thrice-weekly news conferences.
The Onondaga County Health Department, serving the Syracuse area, shares its data from the state with its residents.
As well, New York City's Department of Health also provides the very data that some of you in Western New York have been asking to see regarding our community.
But when we asked the Erie County Health Department to provide the information to us daily it declined and told us to get it from the state.
We sent several emails this week to the New York State Department of Health, and it responded on Thursday with data from several dates earlier this month, which Erie County did not provide.
It gave us no indication, however, that it would start providing this information to the public along with the rest of the data it provides on its website.
