Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon confirmed 23 additional cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 146.

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 650,000 people and killed over 30,300 worldwide. New York state has at least 46,000 positive cases, the highest number in the country, with 728 deaths.

The county saw its first positive case of the virus almost two weeks ago, McMahon said at a media briefing. Of the 146 cases in Onondaga County, 20 are hospitalized and eight are in critical condition, he said.

“There are numbers, but these are really people. These are families,” McMahon said.

Onondaga County hospitals could accept patients from downstate if needed, McMahon said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press briefing Thursday that he was looking to collaborate with hospitals in upstate New York to address hospital overflow downstate.

Hospital infrastructure in Onondaga County is not stressed, in large part because of good decisions that the county health department and hospital system have made, McMahon said.

Upstate Medical University and other hospitals should prioritize caring for patients in central and upstate New York, McMahon said. However, county hospitals do have the capacity to support downstate patients if needed, he said.

“Upstate is called upstate. Let’s make sure we’re dealing with central New York and northern New York first,” McMahon said. “In the event that our downstate neighbors need help, we need to help. We’re all New Yorkers.”

Published on March 28, 2020 at 5:12 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan