The last of New York State’s emergency coronavirus regulations expired at the end of the day Thursday, but what that means locally isn’t immediately clear. County Executive Ryan McMahon said many of the biggest restrictions were lifted after the state surpassed 70% of adults getting at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. McMahon said the end of the emergency does return powers to local government.
“I don’t really see any other big things with the emergency being over,” said McMahon. “Other than the fact that if we see something specific to our community now related to this virus, my emergency order if I needed one doesn’t need to go get approved from the state department of health now.”
One of the provisions coming to an end is the ability for bars and restaurants to sell to-go and delivery alcohol. McMahon said regarding masks in schools, the county is still seeking clarification from the state on who is now in charge of those rules.
The end of the state of emergency comes on a good data day for Onondaga County. There were just 4 new cases Thursday and the number of active cases has dropped to just 46. McMahon acknowledged that the risk of the virus is definitely lower, but the threat of catching Covid remains…especially for those who are not vaccinated.
“Travel. If you go into parts of the country and you’re unvaccinated that the vaccination rates aren’t where ours are, there’s more risk there. Then you come back. So these things, we’ve seen it all happen over the last 16 months how this virus can spread,” said McMahon.
Onondaga County continues to hold open vaccination clinics every Tuesday at the Civic Center, and pop-up clinics in the community. Vaccinations are also available at the Family Health Picnics, a series of free concerts throughout the city this summer. The next family health picnic will be on Sunday at Schiller Park.
