From Allegany Hope, 8/20/21
Allegany County, NY, has dropped back below the level of Substantial Risk for COVID-19 transmission, trading places yesterday with Schuyler County as one of only three counties in the state being listed in the lower Moderate Risk category. How long the change will last is unknown, with Cattaraugus County popping in and out of the Substantial classification three times earlier this month before settling in over the past several days in the Substantial category.
Allegany County’s positivity rate of tests-to-positives also dropped from 2.5 to to 1.9 yesterday, tying with Cattaraugus for second from the bottom in the state for that listing. The county has been in a seesaw movement for an extended period of time, and often running contrary to statewide and Western New York Region patterns, of which Allegany is a part. The difference is particularly important now due to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which publishes the risk levels daily, recommending that individuals, even those who are vaccinated, wear masks when among people indoors if in Substantial or High Risk of transmission counties to help prevent the spread of the new Delta variant. Even vaccinated people can be a spreader of the disease, according to the CDC. The issue is particularly difficult due to county and higher government data often not matching due to different reporting cycles.
As we reported last night, Allegany has recorded 11 new cases this week, through yesterday. Due to the county no longer providing daily data updates and only presenting lump sum numbers for a seven-day reporting cycle which ends on Sundays, Allegany Hope is forced to file Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests and wait to obtain daily information. No numbers have been provided yet for today. Both the state and CDC, however, issue daily updates for Allegany County but with different timing. Yesterday, the State went over 5,000 new cases, hitting 5,138, an increase of 401 from the day before. It was the highest number since 5,704 were recorded four months ago on April 17. The increase before the rapidly-spreading Delta variant began appearing in New York State was 255 on July 5. In the 40 Upstate New York counties north of Orange and Dutchess, 1,297 new positives were recorded yesterday, up 48 from the previous day and the highest since 1,337 were reported on April 30. That daily number was at 44, also on July 5.
COVID-19 Trackers which also provide additional and sometimes different information than the county are available at:– Allegany County: http://bit.ly/3cHU2Rl— New York Forward COVID-19 Tracker: https://on.ny.gov/2VIePLx— New York COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: https://on.ny.gov/3qAiJmD– CDC COVID Tracker: https://bit.ly/3cb9HYm.– Schools Report Card: https://on.ny.gov/3ieQJkx— Alfred State College: https://bit.ly/33rqlze*– Alfred University: https://bit.ly/3xSMqSU*– Houghton College: https://bit.ly/30rYtcv
** NOTE: College data on the Schools Report Card and that on the individual institution’s website may vary.
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