3 more Covid-19 cases in Orleans for 24 total

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 9 April 2020 at 4:10 pm

Genesee County has 9 new confirmed cases for 63 total

Orleans County has three more confirmed cases of Covid-19 for 24 total, the Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments is reporting today.

The new cases include two people who reside in the central part of Orleans County and one on the western part of the county.

Of the new cases, one person is in the 30s, another in the 50s and one in the 90s.

One of the positive cases is connected to a confirmed positive case and is in mandatory isolation.

Genesee County has nine new confirmed cases today for 63 positives total. Eight of the individuals who tested positive reside in the central part of the county and one person lives in the eastern part of the county.

Of the ages, one is in the 20s, five in the 30s, one in the 40s, one in the 50s, and one person is in the 60s.

Three of the new positive cases were under precautionary or mandatory quarantine when they became symptomatic.

Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases with known contacts already in mandatory quarantine. They will be swabbed to be tested for Covid-19 if symptoms become present.

The two Health Departments have broken out the ages by decade for all of the cases in the two counties.

The department wants to show that many of the cases involve younger adults. Initially the department was only reporting the cases as people under age 65, or 65 and older.

Of the 87 cases in the two counties, 14 are people in their 70s, 80s or 90s. People in their 60s make up 17 of the cases, which is the most of any decade by age, but it’s only one more than the 16 for people in their 30s.

There are 56 cases of Covid-19 for people under age 60, or 64 percent of the total.

The Health Departments report that four people have recovered from Covid-19 in Orleans and 12 have recovered in Genesee. No one has died from the virus in Orleans in the past month while one has in Genesee County.

Click here to see a map with more details about the cases in the two counties.

Passover / Holy Week / Easter Holiday

In regards to Passover and the upcoming Easter holiday, the Health Departments remind people that gatherings of people, including among families for parties or celebrations, are canceled or postponed until at least April 22, per an executive order from Gov. Cuomo.

“Many houses of worship have been live streaming their services which allows them to share their message and touch base with their congregations,” according to an advisory from the Health Departments. “As challenging as this is to do, especially over the holidays, it is vital everyone stay home. Consider celebrating with a phone call, or a social app so you can see one another and remember the life you may be saving by staying home could be one of your loved ones. This is temporary.”

Because Covid-19 is circulating locally, the Health Departments again stressed the importance of social distancing and staying home.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments also advised the following:

The Use of Cloth Face Coverings

The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies). The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected. Recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms. Continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The cloth face cover is not a substitute for social distancing or proper hand washing.

The cloth face cover should:

• fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face

• be secured with ties or ear loops

• include multiple layers of fabric

• allow for breathing without restriction

• be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Mental Health

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and having to socially distance yourself from someone you love can be difficult. Below are resources that can help you connect to a professional that can help you through these challenging times:

• Care + Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 at 585-283-5200 or text  ‘Talk’ to 741741

• New Yorkers can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling

• Head Space: A mindfulness app called Headspace is offering some meditations to listen to for free to ease minds in such a stressful time. The app is free to download and includes meditations, sleep, and movement exercises to help with the varying emotions you may be feeling. The app does include in-app purchases. Click here for more information.

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