A 27th patient in Onondaga County has died of the coronavirus, County Executive Ryan McMahon announced Monday.

The patient was a woman in her late 70s with underlying health conditions, McMahon said at a media briefing. Onondaga has confirmed 21 cases since Sunday, bringing the total number of reported cases to 819, McMahon said.

“We talk a lot about data but these are people, these are our neighbors,” McMahon said.

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected 291,996 people and killed 17,303 in New York state as of Monday. There are 275 active cases of COVID-19 in the county, a number that accounts for people who have contracted the virus but have not recovered or died.

There has been a steady decline of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county, McMahon said. Of the active cases, 14.5% involve hospitalizations, he said.

The county’s new testing strategies have resulted in an increase in active cases, McMahon said. Many testing sites in the area have begun to focus on nursing homes and high-density buildings, he said.

“We’ve been playing offense,” McMahon said. “We’re finding cases, and we’re getting these cases quarantined and we are getting these people help.”

The county is administering hundreds of proactive tests a day, McMahon said. Of the county’s active cases, 60% originated from senior living facilities and contacts from positive cases, he said.

The county can better contain the spread of the virus if cases are all from the same building, McMahon said. Often the people in the building haven’t left or come in contact with others very often, he said.

“Our proactive testing is working. We’re seeing that with the numbers,” McMahon said. “This was the plan and the health department is doing a fantastic job with our emergency management teams coordinating with local facilities, assisted living and nursing homes.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered the closure of nonessential businesses in New York state until May 15 to curb the spread of the virus. Cuomo has said the state will begin to reopen businesses in phases after May 15.

Onondaga County will continue to work with the state to develop plans to reopen businesses in the region, McMahon said. The area’s main concern is reopening in a way that won’t make the situation any worse, he said.

“Everything we do in this process is driven by data and fighting this virus so we don’t go backwards in this process,” he said.

Published on April 28, 2020 at 10:17 am

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss