Coronavirus Update, December 8, 2020
The Tompkins County Health Department is reporting potential exposures to COVID-19 at the Home Depot and Walmart in Ithaca. One individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is an employee at Walmart, and the other is an employee at Home Depot. Both people are in isolation and any close contacts are being asked to quarantine.
Potential public exposure may have occurred over the course of two days at Home Depot, located at 410 Elmira Rd., Ithaca. Those days and times are Thursday, December 3 from 5:00pm - 9:00pm, and Friday, December 4 from 5:00pm - 9:00pm.
The public may have also been exposed to the coronavirus on three occasions at the Walmart located at 135 Fairgrounds Memorial Parkway, Ithaca. Those days and times were Tuesday, December 1, from 7:00am-4:00pm, Wednesday, December 2, from 7:00am-4:45pm and Thursday, December 3, from 12:00pm-6:00pm.
Anyone who thinks they've been exposed should get tested and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19.More information about the exposure, and how to get tested for COVID-19, or to see a full list of symptoms, visit tompkinscountyny.gov/health or call 607-274-6688. Or, visit wrfi.org/coronavirus.
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The Tompkins County Health Department is reporting a record number of new COVID-19 cases as a result of asymptomatic infections within homes, small gatherings and holiday celebrations. Other new cases have been found among small clusters of employees at local businesses, and a number of positive cases associated with local higher education institutions. According to a Health Department press release, over 100 cases cannot identify where they might have contracted the disease.
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22 new positive COVID-19 cases were reported today by the Tompkins County health department. There are 28 new recoveries. According to the County Health Department, that leaves 287 active cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins. The county also reported that a fourth resident of Oak Hill Manor Nursing home in Ithaca has died due to COVID-19.
With the new cases, The Tompkins County Health Department is now strongly discouraging all non-essential gatherings and travel.
In Schuyler County, there are 7 new cases of COVID-19 reported as of today, leaving 35 active cases, according to their Health Department. 3 remain hospitalized.
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The Ithaca Voice is reporting that New York State could face further dining restrictions if the rise of hospitalization rates due to COVID-19 continues over the next five days.
During a press briefing on Monday, Governor Cuomo announced that the state would reduce allowed capacity at indoor dining establishments from 50 percent to 25 percent. Looking at the data, hospitalization rates are nearly guaranteed to continue rising. If so, indoor dining would be suspended entirely in New York City.
Additionally, Cuomo said that the Department of Health will be ordering hospitals to increase their capacity by 25 percent on Monday. He will be holding three press briefings a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Cuomo’s office asserts that new updates may be announced in coming days.
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Contributing Writers: Michayla Savitt, Fred Balfour, and Antonio Ferme.