Orleans has 12 more confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 3 inmates at county jail

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 November 2020 at 5:06 pm

Orleans County has 12 more confirmed cases of Covid-19, including, for the first time, three inmates in the county jail. Orleans has now had 494 people test positive for Covid-19 since March.

The new positive cases reside in Albion, Kendall, Murray, Ridgeway and Shelby. The individuals are in the following age groups: 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Three of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Orleans also has had 14 more people recover from Covid and have been removed from the isolation list, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments reported this afternoon.

Two county residents are currently hospitalized due to Covid.

• Medina Central School also advised the community in a letter that two staff members tested positive for Covid-19. They have been on mandatory quarantine since Nov. 9.

Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, said there likely won’t be any contact tracing at the school because the two employees have been home since Nov. 9. The Health Department will decide if any additional action is needed.

The data isn this chart is cumulative going back to March.

Genesee County received 30 new positive cases of Covid-19. This is reflective from the cases reported yesterday, Health Department officials said.

Due to the volume of positives cases received today, data from Genesee will be updated as soon as possible, the department said. Staff is working on contact tracing.

The new positive cases reside in Alabama, Alexander, Batavia, Bergen, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield, Pavilion and Pembroke. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

One of the individuals was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.

Genesee also has 19 more recoveries from Covid and they have been removed from the isolation list.

Genesee has 3 residents in the hospital due to Covid.

• The Health Department has been notified of a two positive staff members at Batavia Middle School. The individuals are on mandatory isolation until they recover. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual. The school will remain open unless otherwise announced.

• The Health Department has been notified of a two positive students and one positive staff member at Pavilion Middle School. The individuals are on mandatory isolation until they recover. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual. The school will remain open unless otherwise announced.

• 3-county data: Click here to see an online map of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. There are 212 active cases in the three counties, with 98 in Genesee, 67 in Orleans and and 47 in Wyoming.

A reminder the numbers listed as positive/active are current community cases. The recovered numbers are only for community cases and do not include non-county regulated facilities. The total positive cases includes community active/positive, community recovered and all those from non-county regulated facilities.

Additional updates from the Health Departments:

• New restrictions – Effective today 13 at 10 p.m., bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed establishment, must close in-person service from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.

Effective today, indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences will be limited to no more than 10 people.

• Faith-based organizations: Consider continuing or reinstating remote worship due to increased numbers of positive Covid-19 cases to protect your more vulnerable population.

For those who are at risk of complications for Covid-19 or the flu, consider to connect with your house of worship remotely to lessen the risk of contracting Covid-19 or the flu.

If you are sick or experiencing new symptoms, stay home and worship remotely. Don’t share your germs with others.

• Time-Distance-Masks-Hands!: In order to limit the spread of Covid-19 you need to rethink any upcoming gatherings. The more time you spend with non-household members, the more at risk of spreading the virus and putting our counties in a micro-cluster which will increase restrictions. Even small gatherings have the potential to have an impact on our hospital systems as we are seeing an increase in hospital admissions and ICU admissions.

Limit time with non-household members…Keep at least 6 feet or more…Properly wear a mask/face covering over your nose and mouth…and wash your hands frequently with soap and water or 60% alcohol hand sanitizer, as well as sanitizing frequently touched surfaces/items.

• Gathering size: According to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.45, all non-essential gatherings of up to 50 individuals of any size for any reason at venues (celebrations, weddings, or other social events at public facilities or private venues) unless otherwise designated (ex. religious gatherings), are allowed as long as there is appropriate social distancing, wearing cloth masks/face coverings over their mouth and nose, and cleaning and disinfection protocol requirements followed.

With the recent uptick of individuals testing positive and the stricter guidance placed by the governor, it is important to remember that those who plan and host non-essential gatherings (whether at a venue or a private residence) as noted above, can be fined up to $15,000, and/or cause our counties to be considered a micro-cluster which will place the area under stricter restrictions.


Orleans County is in the Finger Lakes Region, which had the highest positivity rate of Covid tests in the state on Thursday.

• Statewide data includes new record for tests: New York set a new record on Thursday with 203,721 tests reported. Of those 5,401 were positive or 2.65% of the total.

The positive testing rate in all Focus Zone Areas is 4.58 percent while the rate outside the Focus Zone Areas is 2.29 percent.

Total hospitalizations from Covid were at 1,737 in the state. There were also 24 fatalities yesterday from Covid in New York.

“We are testing more than just about any other state in the nation, reaching new record highs in the number of tests we perform in a single day,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “The good news is our infection rate is one of the lowest in the nation. The bad news is we are in the midst of a sea of Covid rising around us. You look at the international numbers, and they are frightening – countries are locking down. You look at states around the country and the numbers are all going up quickly.”

Cuomo also announced that an emergency summit will be held this weekend with the governors of Northeastern states to discuss aligning policy in light of rising Covid-19 cases in the region and throughout the country.

“The reality is the virus is mobile and we’re in the holiday season and people will travel more,” he said. “These are all elements that conspire to increase the spread. We believe we’re going to have to be taking additional steps, and to the degree we can share information and align action with other regional states, we’ll do that.”

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