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McMahon Asks Central New Yorkers To Modify Holiday Gatherings To Maintain Progress

Onondaga County Executive's Office
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Healthcare workers are getting the coronavirus vaccine, and Onondaga County’s health data is headed in the right direction. Hospitalization rates have remained mostly flat and new daily case have dropped over 20% since the initial Halloween surge. However, County Executive Ryan McMahon said the county is on the edge of more risk going into the holiday season.

McMahon said it’s the community’s responsibility to keep virus rates down, and no arguments can be made against economic restrictions until health data improves.

“If you can’t treat your sick, there’s no argument. And people are getting sick from something. If you don’t believe in this process, don’t believe covid is real, who are all these people getting sick” said McMahon. “So let’s just stop the nonsense with that. Let’s take this seriously going into the week, and we’ll continue to get this curve going in the right direction.”

A total of 334 county residents have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began. McMahon said nursing home vaccination will begin on Monday. County officials continue to plan for the next phase of vaccinating Central New Yorkers. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently designated Upstate University Hospital as the regional vaccine hub.

NEW CONTACT TRACERS FROM COMMUNITY

One local company is making contact tracing efforts easier on county employees. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced Thursday that the company will donate a dozen employees to help in contact tracing efforts. McMahon said that the employer did not want any fanfare, so he’s not planning to disclose who they are at the moment.

The employees will continue to be paid by their employer and work from their offices. For training, they will take part in the Johns Hopkins contact tracing course.  McMahon said any other company interested in something like this, reach out to the Onondaga County economic development team.

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.