Onondaga County confirmed three deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths in the county to 29.

The patients were a man in his 50s, a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 90s, County Executive Ryan McMahon said. All three individuals had underlying medical conditions, McMahon said.

“The grim reality is, folks who have underlying medical conditions who get this are in a fight,” McMahon said. “Sometimes it’s a losing battle.”

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected 295,106 and killed 17,638 in New York state. McMahon reported 22 new cases of the virus in Onondaga County, increasing the total number of cases to 841.

Of the 841 confirmed cases, 377 are in the city of Syracuse, McMahon said. The number of patients in the city who have recovered from the virus now stands at 220.

The total number of active cases in the county is six less than yesterday, McMahon said. Active cases account for people who have contracted the virus but have not recovered or died.

Today was a “good day for recoveries,” McMahon said, with 25 patients having recovered from the virus since yesterday. Of all active cases in the county, 37 are in the hospital, he said.

Out of the 22 new cases, eight are affiliated with senior living facilities, McMahon said. The majority of the new cases in the county are coming from proactive testing of employees in these facilities, he said.

“Folks in senior living right now are already in a quarantine situation,” McMahon said. “The ability for these individuals to spread this to the community at large is limited.”

The county is also conducting COVID-19 testing in residential buildings where the virus may have spread, McMahon said. Medical staff will work to quarantine residents who test positive.

McMahon said he’s concerned about the virus continuing to spread among elderly individuals who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 symptoms.

“I’m very concerned we still have dark days ahead in this fight,” McMahon said.

Published on April 29, 2020 at 2:28 am

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan