With Christmas in just a matter of days, health officials are giving their final warnings to keep celebrations as small as possible to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said behavior during this week will determine the severity of the pandemic in this community.
“Reality is, is this is the most important week from a trajectory standpoint of where we are with the virus and probably the pandemic, the whole pandemic,” said McMahon.
McMahon said at this point, data is showing a decline in COVID-19 cases locally. The county reported 304 new cases Monday and 6 additional deaths. The county lost 52 community members in the past week. McMahon said the loss of life is numbing, but the good news is coronavirus vaccination is underway in nursing homes.
While Onondaga County continues to hold asymptomatic testing clinics, increase contact tracing abilities, and prepare plans for vaccinating the public, Congress left local governments out of its latest stimulus package. County Executive Ryan McMahon has long advocated for federal aid, and said he is disappointed.
“Local governments continue to be used as a bargaining chip,” said McMahon. “Being one of the largest employers in the community that has been fighting this pandemic, being the front line employer fighting the pandemic, not to get the help we need is kind of ridiculous at this point.”
McMahon said he is happy however to see aid go to small businesses, rent assistance, and local event venues with theSave Our Stages Act. He said there is a possibly the county could receive funding through Save Our Stages, and his team is looking into it. This is the first round of federal aid since the CARES Act passed in March. McMahon said the county is looking at a loss of at least $100 million due to the pandemic.
