Oneida County learns of additional nursing-home deaths, upping COVID-19 death toll to 71

UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County on Wednesday said it learned of four nursing-home deaths that occurred “within the last two weeks” that are part of seven additional COVID-19 deaths in the county.

Besides those new nursing-home deaths, the Wednesday total of seven includes two deaths that were also “nursing-home related,” bringing the county’s death toll to 71.

In its Wednesday email, Oneida County also reported 17 new positive infections — including nine nursing-home residents — bringing the county’s total to 1,183.

Of the 1,183 positive cases, 30 patients are hospitalized in Oneida County and three are in hospitals outside the county. Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) has 25 of the hospitalized patients, while Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) has five.

In addition, the county also noted that of the hospitalized patients, 21 are from nursing homes, including 18 at MVHS and three at RMH. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stipulated that nursing-home patients can’t return to those facilities until they test negative for COVID-19.

Oneida County’s Wednesday report also indicates that the county has 353 active positive cases and that 759 positive cases have been resolved.

In addition, health-care workers have conducted 27,791 tests, with 26,608 negative results.

The county also reports 443 patients are under mandatory quarantine; 331 are under precautionary quarantine; and 11,684 have been discharged from mandatory and precautionary quarantine.