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McMahon: Onondaga County Hasn't Seen Second Coronavirus Wave Yet

Onondaga County Executive's Office
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Onondaga County is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases this week. With 89 new cases over Wednesday and Thursday, some are questioning if this is the start of a second wave in the region.

County Executive Ryan McMahon doesn’t think that’s happened yet.

"I don’t think we’ve seen a second wave yet. I think we saw a cluster. And think we have seen at times the community getting a little too comfortable, myself included,” said McMahon. “So now we just need to reengage. Because I think we’ll see more activity when the weather really turns.”

Weather at this moment is still allowing for some outside activities, including dining at restaurants. The closure of Walton Street in Syracuse for expanded outdoor dining is going on through October. But McMahon is hoping to find a way to keep outdoor dining viable even into Syracuse’s winter.

Canadian cities do it. We haven’t,” said McMahon. “We’re not great at embracing winter even though we know it’s coming every year, sometimes it’s even longer than a season. So we need to get better at embracing it anyways. So this might be an opportunity where we’re forced to embrace it. Certainly more people are comfortable outdoors in some of these settings and certainly I know our health professionals are comfortable with that as well.”

McMahon adds there’s a possibility for a public-private partnership to help restaurants outfit themselves for outdoor dining in the region’s colder months.

Katie Zilcosky is WAER’s All Things Considered host and features reporter. She also co-hosts WAER’s public affairs show Syracuse Speaks. As a reporter, she focuses on technology, economy, and identity.