SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon on Friday reported 99 additional COVID-19 cases to bring the total number of cases in Onondaga County to 5,350.
The county had reported 50 on Thursday and 70 on Wednesday. McMahon, who spoke on a recording posted to the county’s Facebook page, also noted the Friday data didn’t include any deaths.
In his coronavirus briefing at the Oncenter on Thursday, McMahon told reporters that based on the data he was seeing, “[Friday will have] the highest case number out of any day we’ve had in the pandemic.”
“When we have this many cases, it’s hard to quickly contact trace … because it’s just a lot of work,” McMahon said in his Friday announcement on the Onondaga County Facebook page. “The reality is … this does [put] pressure [on] our medical infrastructure.”
Of the 99 cases, 21 were related to higher education, according to McMahon.
“You did hear about two clusters up at Syracuse University. Two parties that have led to what are probably 30 cases … so these clusters have not gotten out of control. We only have 13 of those cases in our data [on Friday], so [Saturday], we’ll have the other 17,” said McMahon.
Only five of the 99 cases were related to area schools, he added.
Of the 99 cases, 68 were the result of community spread, a figure that McMahon called “a concerning number.”
In breaking down the community spread data, McMahon said 13 cases are the result of household contacts.
“These are folks who are already in a quarantine,” he noted.
Some are the result of traveling, and McMahon said the county’s investigation indicates the cases came from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, South Dakota, North Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky, Florida, and five in other parts of New York.
“Our investigations show that nobody quarantined … zero. So nobody followed the state guidance. In addition to that, these folks got tested when they’re sick,” said McMahon. “Here’s the deal … We know people are traveling, it’s part of life. Testing needs to be part of this. Do you community a favor and if you’re going to travel, when you come home, you get a test. Period.”
McMahon went on to say he understand the “COVID fatigue” but residents need to “modify our behavior now.”
“We all need to be smart. If we’re going to be with each other, we do need to [social] distance. We do need to wear masks where we can so that we can quickly turn this around,” he added.
