New cases of COVID-19 in Oneida County are slowing rising again. It's too early to say if there is a spike on the way, but for the third consecutive day the county reported 40 or more new positives (44-40-48).

It's a minor increase, but we are slowly seeing new case totals trending upward.

As reflected in the graph below from OCgov.net, the average number of new cases per day in Oneida County peaked at 319 on January 1. The area saw a steady decline for the next six weeks with the average falling below 30 in mid-February. Then, a small spike drove that average in to the low-50's by the end of the month. The average fell as low as 24 by March 2. Since, new cases per-day have ticked into the mid-30's, and as of Wednesday, back into the mid-40's.

3-Day Average new cases in Oneida County (via OCgov.net)
3-Day Average new cases in Oneida County (via OCgov.net)
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Considering this uptick is happening as some 40,000 Oneida County residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus, and almost 30,000 more received a first dose,  Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said he's keeping an eye on the trend.

''I am concerned about the numbers when they rise, even the slightest bit over the last few days. One of the factors to keep in mind is that less people are getting tested, and at the same time we're finding the positivity rate is a bit higher. While I'm not going to sound the alarm bells immediately, but I am gonna continue to caution people: even with the vaccine...we have to take the precautions that have been in place, wearing a mask, and distancing and hygiene. The vaccine doesn't give us a free ride to throw caution to the wind and all is well again,'' Picente said. ''Those numbers are something we have to keep an eye one, and we look at the those numbers everyday.''

Meanwhile, new cases in Herkimer County remained low in data released Wednesday. There six new cases and no deaths. Herkimer County's three-day average is just five.

The number of residents hospitalized for treatment of the virus is unchanged at six, while the number of active cases in the county was up a hair to 63, up from 59 the previous day.

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