From Casey Jones, Editor of Allegany Hope, 9/1/21
EXCLUSIVE: New COVID-19 cases in Allegany County more than tripled last week over the week before, reaching the highest level in nearly four months. Another 16 positives have been added during the first three days of this week.
The data is revealed today in the long-awaited response to our last week’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to Allegany County, NY, government and is higher than what we had been anticipating based on state and federal statistics.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that another hospitalization has been added to the seven-day rate as of Monday, bringing that total to five, up from four the day before.
Highlights which are included on our chart which accompanies this story shows as of yesterday 3,777 cases since the start of the pandemic, up 82 since the beginning of last week.
There were 66 new positives during the past week, the most since 69 were recorded for the week ended May 1, at the height of the last surge. The number was up from 20 the week before, or 330 percent.
There also were 115 new quarantines/isolations for the week, up nearly 240 percent from the previous week. Another 48 have been added for the first three days of this week, including a dozen which were recorded between noon and 4PM on Monday. The active number currently in that category also has more than doubled, moving up from 63 to 135 last week.
Of the 47 new cases since obtaining our last county data on Thursday, effective the day before, 14, or a fraction under 30 percent, had received full vaccinations, although information isn’t available as to how many are considered fully vaccinated by having two weeks lapse from receiving the one or full two-dose series.
This breakthrough percentage is higher than that which we have reported previously for two other August time periods and appears to be greater than nationwide numbers reported by the CDC.
There were no reported cases of individuals who previously were known to have contracted the disease and no variant positives were reported to the county by the state, although variants are assumed to be present, with the Delta mutation sparking multi-fold hikes in case numbers throughout the state and nation.
Breakthroughs included six having had Moderna vaccines, five with Johnson and Johnson and three with Pfizer, although total vaccinations having occurred in each category to date isn’t immediately known.
Today’s county data is the first since last Wednesday. Allegany Hope had filed a FOIL request Friday for an update, with six days being provided today, as of 4PM yesterday.
The county did release yesterday lump sum totals only for last Monday through Sunday. It stopped providing daily statistics over the July 4th Weekend, and daily data on weekends back in February, referring individuals to its online dashboard which provides weekly totals only and no comparisons to make the information easily usable by consumers.
The State Health Department and the CDC does provide daily statistics for Allegany County, but they don’t correlate with the county’s daily data we obtain due to differences in reporting times.
Allegany Hope now is forced to file multiple FOIL requests each week in order to provide its readers with usable and more timely information.
The positivity rate of tests-to-positives jumped from 2.2 to 3.2 percent last week in the county and is at 3.3 today, while the statewide rated moved from 3.2 to 3.3 percent and is at 3.4 today. The Western New York Region, of which Allegany County is a part, went from 3.6 to 4.0 percent, and now is at 4.1 for the same time period.
The county, as we previously reported, broke through the 40 percent mark for first-dose vaccinations, moving from 39.7 to 40 percent during the week and is at 40.2 today. Allegany remains the last in the state, however, 4.7 percent behind second-to-last Tioga County.
In comparison, the statewide rate for other counties increased twice as fast, from 63.7 percent to 64.6 during the week and is at 64.8 percent today.
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.
– – – – – – – – – –
See more stories about what is happening in Allegany County and beyond by viewing our main @Allegany Hope Facebook page. Facebook only brings a small portion of information to individual News Feeds, based on algorithms it solely determines. Therefore, you may miss items that are the most important to you without reviewing our page on some type of schedule.
Also, “Like” and “Share” our main page, along with information from these posts, to help inform your friends and loved ones. If you have possible story information you would like to make us aware of, please message, or connect with us at AlleganyHopeWNY@outlook.com or (484) 435-0503.
