Onondaga County reports two more virus deaths, warns of possible exposure at local business

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Two more people have died from a COVID-19 infection, bringing the Onondaga County death toll to 84.

At the same time, the Onondaga County Health Department is warning area residents about potential coronavirus exposure at a business on Syracuse’s southside last weekend and Monday.

Two deaths

The pair who passed away are a white woman in her 80s and a white man in his 80s, both of whom died in a hospital, according to Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

“The grim reality is the virus is here and still impacting us every day, and we’ve lost two neighbors since yesterday,” McMahon said to open his daily coronavirus briefing at the Oncenter. “Again, we want to think about these two individuals, [and] their families. As we grieve for them, we grieve for everybody who we’ve lost related to COVID-19 and everybody that we’ve lost in this process.”

Onondaga County now has 1,523 virus cases, up 35 from Wednesday. The figure includes 56 people recovering in a hospital, 16 of whom are in critical condition, up one from yesterday, McMahon said.

He also reported 785 people have recovered from the disease.

Exposure warning

The Onondaga County Health Department has confirmed that an employee at Deb’s Convenience Mart, located at 2419 S. Salina St in Syracuse, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Members of the public who visited the store on these days and times may have been exposed, the department said.

• Saturday, May 9 between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• Sunday, May 10 between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
• Monday, May 11 between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

The employee was wearing a face mask while working. Health Department investigators are in the process of identifying all close contacts of the individual and notifying them. Anyone who visited the store during the identified time periods should monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever, cough, and/or difficulty breathing for 14 days after they visited the store.

If symptoms do develop, stay home and call your doctor for further guidance about testing. If you are elderly, have underlying medical conditions, or are immunocompromised, call your doctor early even if your illness is mild. In an emergency call 911.