People who refuse to comply with Onondaga County heath officials for COVID-19 contract tracing could face up to a $500 fine. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon made that announcement at a briefing Thursday.
“By not working with us, is not in your interest and it’s not in the community’s interest and quite frankly it’s extremely selfish.”
McMahon said that up to five out of ten people who test positive have been noncompliant with contact tracing. He stressed that the requirements are less strict now than earlier in the pandemic. Vaccinated people exposed to COVID are now only required to wear a mask for two weeks rather than quarantine.
The fine will be implemented through executive order if the county continues to see high numbers of contact tracing refusal.
McMahon also indicated that COVID vaccine booster shots will be coming soon. The county plans to roll out their plan next week, with a target date of September 20th as the earliest possible rollout date.
“It will be a multi pronged plan with multiple points of distribution in the community. But again, it’s likely to just be those who received the Pfizer shot most likely depending on the federal government rule eight months ago.”
Guidelines for who is eligible and when are depending on direction from the federal government, but McMahon hopes that guidance will be released within the next week.
Officials reported 861 active cases in Onondaga County as of Thursday, with 137 new cases reported in the past week.