Coronavirus Update, December 14, 2020
The Tompkins County Health Department is alerting the public of numerous potential COVID-19 exposures in the area. The latest warning details that an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a funeral service at Perkins Funeral Home in Dryden during the time when they could have infected others. The individual who tested positive is in isolation and the close contacts identified are in quarantine.
The potential public COVID-19 exposure may have occurred at Perkins Funeral Home in Dryden at the service on Saturday, December 5, 3:00pm.
The Odyssey Book Store in Ithaca is another business impacted by a public exposure to the virus. An employee working at the Bookstore who tested positive is in isolation and all known close contacts are in quarantine.
The exposures were on:
- Tuesday December 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Wednesday December 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Thursday December 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In addition, there was a possible public exposure to COVID-19 at the Wegmans Deli counter among two employees. The public exposures may have happened at:
- Saturday, December 5, 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Wednesday, December 9, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The health department recommends anyone who was possibly exposed to the virus at any of these periods to monitor your health for any COVID symptoms. Information on getting tested can be found at the TCHD website.
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The latest COVID-19 case numbers as of the time of the 6 p.m. broadcast were released Sunday from the Tompkins County health department. Sadly, there was another death at Oak Hill Nursing home in Ithaca. Now 5 residents at Oak Hill have passed due to the outbreak at the facility. Over the weekend there were 63 additional positives and 75 new recoveries. According to the County Health Department, that leaves 308 active cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins. 8 remain hospitalized with complications from the virus.
In Schuyler County, over the weekend there were 20 new cases of COVID-19, and 16 of the individuals had known contact with someone who tested positive. As of Monday there are 34 active cases, according to their Health Department. 3 people remain hospitalized due to the virus
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The Ithaca City School District will transition to full distance learning beginning tomorrow due to many mandatory isolations and quarantines of students and staff across the district. A letter from district superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown indicates that a COVID-19 testing program will be implemented come January 3 - when distanced learning is expected to end.
Grab and go breakfast and lunch will continue to be available for pickup at Boynton Middle School, LACS, and Fall Creek Elementary School from 10 a.m. to noon every virtual learning day. More information on the change and home school meal delivery can be found at the website ithacacityschools.org.
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Now, for some more hopeful news: This morning Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse in Queens was the first New Yorker - and American - to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in a non-trial setting. The FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for public use over the weekend, and thousands of doses of the vaccine arrived around the country. 346,000 doses of another version should arrive next week, reports WMHT. Both vaccines have efficacy rates over 90%, and require two doses.
The first vaccines in New York are reserved for those who live and work in nursing homes and for health care workers on the front-line.
Contributing writing by News Director Michayla Savitt and News Contributor Fred Balfour