McMahon quarantining following virus exposure, tested negative

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon on Monday said he has been quarantining following exposure to COVID-19 from a family member.

“I was a contact, so I’m in a quarantine. I feel fine. I’ve tested negative for COVID,” McMahon said in a Facebook Live briefing from his home office on Monday afternoon.

He also noted that as county executive, if he wanted to work out of his office, he could, “but the safe thing to do for stopping any potential spread is for me to continue to stay home for a couple more days and continue to watch my symptoms.”

In his briefing, he said the virus is in its second wave. McMahon reported three additional deaths — a female in her 70s who was in the hospital and two individuals who had been residents of a nursing home.

McMahon also reported Onondaga County’s COVID-19 case total is now at 10,473, up 212 from Sunday. He said 145 people are in the hospital, up 13 from Sunday.

“To give you an idea, we had 26 people go into the hospital, new admissions [and] 12 people discharged. So, people are getting sick and that’s why we need to modify our social behavior,” McMahon said.

Of the 145 people in the hospital, 26 are in the intensive-care unit, which is up three from Sunday, he added.