4 COVID Deaths

Mark New Record

For Otsego County

By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – Four new COVID-19 deaths were reported today, marking the highest single-day reported total yet, according to Heidi Bond, Otsego County Public Health Director.

“They have all been sick for a while and were all hospitalized,” Bond said. Two were male and two were female, all over age 55.

There have been 16 deaths in the county since the first cases were reported in March, but with seven of the deaths in December, Bond warns that this pattern is trending in a worse direction than before, attributing the month’s increase in cases to travel for Thanksgiving.

Bond noted that the deaths accumulated over the holiday weekend, leading to a “slight delay” in reporting.

And although there were only 11 cases reported yesterday and nine today, the County Health Department is anticipating another post-holiday spike in cases, issuing a PSA yesterday directing people with what to do if they find out they were exposed to COVID-19 during the holidays.

That being said, Bond is confident that the delay in reporting accounts for the perceived decline in cases, “I would hesitate to say we’ve seen any true decline,” she said.

Sixteen individuals remain hospitalized and another 89 cases remain active in the area.

“We have to continue to be careful,” Bond says. “This means only celebrating the New Year, in-person, with people you live with.”