Chautauqua County officials are recommending “common sense” with increases in area COVID-19 cases. County Public Health Director Christine Schuyler said the Delta variant is likely what is causing cases to rise locally, “We know that the State Epidemiologist is reporting that 90% of the cases that they are sequencing are the Delta variant. So we feel very confident that the Delta variant, in fact, is circulating here and responsible for the uptick that we are seeing in cases, sporadic cases, as well as the 22% of cases that were breakthrough cases.”
Schuyler said of the 119 new cases since August 1st, 84 cases, or 71%, were in people who were not vaccinated. She said vaccinated people were three times less likely to contract the Delta variant than those who are unvaccinated. “Vaccines are about 88% effective in preventing severe illness and death from the Delta variant. And more than 90% of all COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are among the unvaccinated.”
County Executive PJ Wendel said in accordance with CDC Guidance, the county recommends everyone, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear a mask when indoors in public settings to maximize protection from the Delta variant and to prevent spreading it to others.
Chautauqua County is continuing to hold weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Chautauqua Lake Bus Garage in Mayville.
There were 14 new cases of COVID-19 reported for Tuesday, August 10th in Chautauqua County.
According to the most recent numbers from the county’s COVID-19 dashboard, there were 93 active cases as of Tuesday and 5 hospitalizations.
The 7-day average positivity rate is 4.8-percent with a CDC level of community transmission is considered substantial.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been over 94-hundred confirmed cases in the county, with over 92-hundred being listed as recovered. 159 people have died of COVID-19 in Chautauqua County.
According to the CDC Vaccination Tracker, 51-percent of the county’s total population have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 47% of the total population is fully vaccinated. Experts estimate that 70% of the population needs to be immune to COVID-19 for herd immunity
Chautauqua Institution is requiring staff to wear masks given the worsening rates of COVID-19 in Chautauqua County. The staff requirement is for Institution facilities when they can’t distance from fellow staff and patrons, and outdoors in high-contact areas such as restaurants and the Amphitheater. A statement by the Institution said the decision applies to staff only at this time. Guidance for patrons remains as is with those who are vaccinated not required to mask; and those who are unvaccinated required to mask indoors and otherwise where they aren’t able to social distance.
Leave a Reply