SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A sixth Onondaga County resident has died from COVID-19, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced Tuesday afternoon.
“Sadly, we’ve lost another member of our community. We had our sixth fatality … a woman in her 70s with underlying medical conditions,” McMahon said during his daily coronavirus briefing at the Oncenter. “This virus, this disease is a killer … and our community at large needs to start recognizing that more and take this very, very seriously.”
Of the county’s six deaths from COVID-19, five have occurred in the last six days.
Onondaga County reported that 38 people were in the hospital Tuesday with the deadly disease, up from 29 on Monday. Of those, 20 are in intensive-care units. The county had 397 total coronavirus cases, up from 377 the day prior.
“This disease and this virus, when you get it, it impacts you differently. You can be feeling good one day. The next day, you could need help breathing. This is the reality,” said McMahon.
The county executive again stressed the need for residents to follow the social-distancing rules and stay home.