Local Covid cases continue plunge from peak in early January

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 February 2022 at 8:27 pm

New Covid cases in Orleans and Genesee counties continue a sharp decline from the Omicron surge in January when the two counties experienced a pandemic peak in new cases.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported there were 41 new cases in Orleans from Feb. 16-Feb. 22 and 71 in Genesee during those seven days.

The 112 new cases in the two counties is down from 216 the previous week and down 95 percent from the pandemic high of 2,703 cases at the peak of the Omicron surge from Jan. 5-11.

Orleans reported one death from Covid last week and now has had 111 residents pass away from Covid since the pandemic started nearly two years ago. Genesee didn’t report any new deaths from Covid and remains at 182 during the pandemic.

Orleans County, the Covid cases the past 9 weeks include:

159 – Dec. 22-28
379 – Dec. 29-Jan. 4
855 – Jan. 5-11
645 – Jan. 12-18
521 – Jan. 19-25
255 – Jan. 26-Feb. 1
157 – Feb. 2-8
84 – Feb. 9-15
41 – Feb. 16-22

In Genesee County, the Covid cases the past 9 weeks include:

276 – Dec. 22-28
383 – Dec. 29-Jan. 4
1,848 – Jan. 5-11
1,014 – Jan. 12-18
847 – Jan. 19-25
361 – Jan. 26-Feb. 1
198 – Feb. 2-8
132 – Feb. 9-15
71 – Feb. 16-22

Statewide the positivity rate dropped below 2 percent at 1.90 on Tuesday with 2,456 positive tests out of 129,088 reported. That is the fifth straight day the positivity rate is at 2.5 percent or less.

“Thanks to New Yorkers stepping up and getting vaccinated and boosted, our state is leading the way in beating back this virus and moving forward in the pandemic in a new way,” Governor Hochul said. “The vaccine is a critical tool to stay in front of COVID-19, but we still have more work to do to vaccinate our children. Parents and guardians, I encourage you to take advantage of the school midwinter break and consult with your child’s pediatrician about getting them vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.”