Oneida County Surpasses 100 COVID Deaths in January

The prediction made at Halloween and before the holidays was simple: if we let our guard down, people will die from COVID-19. The prediction by health officials was correct and the numbers prove it.

At the end of the July, it seemed that Oneida County had defeated the virus. During August, September and October, COVID deaths were under control. Most days there were no deaths, and when there was, it was almost exclusively only one. That all changed at the end of October.

There were four deaths in September, and four in October. After Halloween, cases started to increase dramatically. We no longer enjoyed  single digit increases in cases as the COVID rate skyrocketed. We watched new cases surpass 100, then 200, and even 300 by late December. Hospitalizations rose accordingly and so did fatalities.

There were 18 deaths in November, 79 deaths in December, and now as we close out January with at least 103 deaths, and still one more day to report. There were four new deaths in Oneida County reported today. Putting this whole thing in perspective, during the peak of the virus back in the spring, there were 25 deaths in May and 45 in June.

There is good news. Over the last week, new cases have been in the low 100s and double digits. Active cases have been coming down significantly, as of yesterday there were 3,603, which is much better than the nearly 9,000 active cases we reported a few weeks ago. Still, 3,600 active cases continues to be very high compared to where we were in September. On September 1st there were seven new cases and only 47 active cases.

Providing our area isn't hit with a new strain of the virus, we are moving in the right direction. Dr. Kent Hall of MVHS reminded the Keeler Show this past week, Valentine's Day is just around the corner and "we need to continue to be diligent."

Here are the Oneida County COVID-19 case numbers as of midnight on Jan. 30.

·64 new positive cases, 18,083* total. *(Upon further investigation, 1 positive case were removed from the previous total).  2 are nursing home residents.

·3,603 active positive cases.

·4 new COVID-19-related deaths, 344 total.  2 are nursing home-related

·112 patients are hospitalized in Oneida County. 95 at MVHS.  17 at Rome Memorial. 23 are nursing home residents.

·11 patients are hospitalized out of county.

·14,136 positive cases have been resolved.

·453,718 total negative results.

·471,801 total tests.

·3,603 in mandatory isolation.

·1,351 mandatory quarantine.