Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon confirmed the county’s seventh case of the novel coronavirus Thursday. 

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 242,000 people and killed over 9,800 globally. There are currently 4,152 confirmed cases in New York state, and at least 12 people have died. 

The most recent patient in Onondaga County is a woman in her early 30s, McMahon said at a media briefing Thursday afternoon. The woman appears to have contracted the virus locally, he said. 

The county confirmed six other cases this week. A woman in her 20s and her mother tested positive after returning from New York City, McMahon announced Wednesday. An individual also contracted the virus after traveling from Spain, and a person in their 20s contracted it locally, according to Syracuse.com. An elderly couple first tested positive Monday.

While the elderly are susceptible to the worst symptoms of COVID-19, people of all ages are becoming sick, Onondaga County Health Commissioner Indu Gupta said. 

None of the confirmed cases are related to one another, except for the elderly couple, Gupta said. Of the seven patients, three contracted the virus locally, Syracuse.com reported. 

Twenty-one individuals are currently in mandatory quarantine in the county, McMahon said. More tests are expected to come in today and tomorrow, he said.

“These are cases that are throughout the community at large,” McMahon said. 

Published on March 19, 2020 at 6:42 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan