Onondaga County COVID-19 cases hit 222 in latest day; state places new limits on bars, restaurants, gyms

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon on Wednesday reported 222 additional cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day amount during the pandemic, to bring the total number of infections to 6,597.

Shortly before McMahon spoke, Gov. Andrew Cuomo took new action on the increase in cases and hospitalizations statewide. Cuomo announced new COVID-19 restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms, and residential gatherings across New York state.

Onondaga County cases

McMahon revealed the record figure in a mid-afternoon announcement on the Onondaga County Facebook page. The county is dealing with 968 active cases (people who have not yet recovered), he added.

Of the 222 new positives, 141 are the direct result of community spread, according to the county executive — a mix of known and unknown sources.

“We have 61 known cases of community spread. That means we can trace back the cases … We’re very comfortable with who we have in quarantine. We think we’ve boxed in that case and that infection. Certainly, there are 80 cases that we’re not as comfortable that we’ve boxed it in because we don’t know the source,” said McMahon.

The county executive said 66 cases are related to higher education and 17 are related to K-12.

McMahon also reported 53 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 10 new admissions, and six people are in the intensive-care unit, up four from Tuesday.

“We need the hospitals to be able to function to take care of all of our sick, not just COVID-19 patients,” said McMahon. “We need the capacity there and we can’t get to the point where that capacity is in jeopardy.”

Bars, restaurants, gyms, private gatherings

Effective Friday at 10 p.m., bars, restaurants, and gyms or fitness centers, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed establishment statewide, will be required to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.

Restaurants will still be allowed to provide curbside, food-only pick-up or delivery after 10 p.m., but will not be permitted to serve alcohol to go. The State Liquor Authority will issue further guidance for licensees on what sales will continue to be permitted.

Cuomo also announced that indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences will be limited to no more than 10 people. This new rule is also effective Friday at 10 p.m.

He said the limit is needed due to the increased spread of COVID resulting from recent private Halloween parties and other indoor gatherings.

These gatherings have become a major cause of cluster activity across the state, the governor says. Further, this public health-measure brings New York State in line with neighboring or nearby states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Onondaga County micro-cluster yellow zone

Cuomo on Monday announced that parts of Onondaga County are now designated a yellow zone micro-cluster in the state’s effort to combat rising cases of the coronavirus.

A map released Monday afternoon has the city of Syracuse; towns of Salina, Clay, and Lysander; and villages of East Syracuse, Solvay, Liverpool, and Baldwinsville shaded in yellow to designate the zone.

Portions of Monroe and Erie counties in Western New York are also now state-designated yellow zones.

“Yellow zones have certain restrictions,” Cuomo said during a late morning conference call with reporters.

Those restrictions include a 25-person maximum capacity on mass gatherings (down from 50); a four-person limit per table for dining (down from 10); and 20 percent weekly testing of in-person students and faculty in schools. Bars and restaurants located in the yellow zones must close at midnight. Attendance at houses of worship is limited to 50-percent capacity (no change).