McMahon says Onondaga County is doing better with COVID as schools prep to ditch the masks

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County is “doing better” in COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations as the calendar turns to March.

“Our medical infrastructure is under a lot less stress related to this, and this is not an emergency,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in his latest COVID-19 briefing held Tuesday morning at the Oncenter.

Onondaga County also agrees with the state’s decision to allow the removal of masks in schools, beginning Wednesday.

“Certainly, if a parent and/or faculty member in any of our school buildings want to wear masks, they should,” McMahon said. “From a mandate standpoint, the emergency is not where it was. People need to understand the risk with an airborne virus, and they need to do what they believe is right.”

Latest COVID-19 data

McMahon reported nearly 390 virus cases over the last four-day period, which he said has “been the trend” of late. The figure includes 138 positives on Saturday, 142 on Sunday, 53 on Monday, and 53 on Tuesday.

“I think that’s about 13 or 14 cases per 100,000, which is a pretty good range to be in for a community our size,” McMahon said.

The county executive also said 69 people are currently hospitalized in Onondaga County with COVID, including 11 people in an intensive-care unit. No new deaths resulting from COVID were reported in the county in the last day.

McMahon cautioned that the public shouldn’t expect to see 30 to 40 percent week-over-week declines in cases anymore. The data will again reflect where COVID infections would be from a “seasonal nature before the omicron variant,” he added.