Oneida County COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 30

UTICA, N.Y. — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oneida County dipped below 30 over the weekend and hit 26 as of the county’s Tuesday virus update.

Of the 26 patients in the hospital, 23 are at MVHS and three are at Rome Health, the county reported. The total was down from 33 people hospitalized a week ago, 42 two weeks ago, and 57 hospitalized three weeks ago. The current number in the hospital is 85 percent below the peak of 177 on Jan. 6.

The sharp decline in the number of present COVID hospital patients comes amid a large drop in virus cases in Oneida County that is not letting up, as well as a ramp up in vaccinations.

The county is now regularly reporting daily infections in the 30s or below after having usually posted at least 100 cases a day in the period from late November to late January, peaking at 364 cases on Jan. 1.

Oneida County’s active infections have plunged to 484 as of Tuesday, down from 603 a week ago, and more than 93 percent below the high-water mark of about 7,300 less than seven weeks ago.

Vaccines

More than 54,000 people in Oneida County have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, or nearly 24 percent of the county’s almost 230,000 total population, as of Tuesday’s update of the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker. More than 30,000 county residents were reported to have completed a vaccine series.