ALBANY – Starting tomorrow at 8 a.m., New Yorkers 50 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine, Governor Cuomo announced in today’s briefing.
“We continue to kick vaccinations into overdrive throughout the state by expanding eligibility, establishing new vaccination sites and opening up eligibility to providers to reach new populations,” he declared. ” However, limited supply from the federal government means that New Yorkers should remain patient.”
Hometown Fourth of July fireworks, like these from 2016, may light up the city’s skies again this Fourth of July. (AllOTSEGO.com file photo)
ONEONTA – Looking forward to continued easing of COVID restrictions, Oneonta’s First Night Committee announces it is planning a “robust” Hometown Fourth of July celebration this year, according to David Hayes, an organizer.
The Hometown Fourth was canceled last year, due to COVID, as was the other major Fourth of July event in the county, the Springfield “oldest in the nation” parade, which has been cancelled again this year.
COOPERSTOWN – Cooperstown Central’s new superintendent, Sarah Spross, announced yesterday that a junior-senior high school student tested positive for COVID, and that school will be closed beginning today through Friday, March 26.
Students will shift to remote instruction, and volleyball practice and games have been suspended through next Saturday.
“While many of our staff have received the vaccination,” Spross said, “they are not considered fully vaccinated because they are not two weeks past receiving the second dose.”
ONEONTA – After a bump in COVID positives at Hartwick College, President Margaret Drugovich is reporting that testing of every on-campus student and employee this week yielded only two positives (both students) were detected.
In addition, three positive cases were found among students who were already in required quarantine off-campus, she added.
GILBERTSVILLE – Eugene and Linda Keenan of Gilbertsville, both passed away peacefully at Chase Memorial Nursing Home in New Berlin during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eugene was born on Feb. 15, 1942, in Queens, a son of the late Michael and Marie (Marron) Keenan. Linda was born on Nov. 12, 1948, in Brooklyn; a daughter of the late John and Viola (Gloster) Blair.
Together, they lived most of their lives in New York City until the beautiful country mountains of Otsego County convinced them to move Upstate where they could raise their son, Patrick, in the Butternut Valley.
COOPERSTOWN – The COVID-19 death toll continues to climb. Why? According to Public Health Director Heidi Bond, the fatalities are still largely related to the holidays, including as far back as Thanksgiving.
“A lot of these people were those that were hospitalized for a long period of time,” Bond said today.
One ongoing cluster remains active at a nursing home within the county that has yet to be disclosed.
The New York Times is reporting Otsego County at an “extremely high risk level” for COVID-19.
“Cases are extremely high and have increased over the past two weeks,” said The Times in its county-by-county assessment. “The number of hospitalized Covid patients has fallen in the Otsego County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Otsego County is high, suggesting that cases may be undercounted.”
ONEONTA – If you were at the Red Jug Pub, 196 South Main St., between 6 p.m. and closing last Thursday, Jan. 21, you may have been exposed to COVID-19, the county Health Department announced a few minutes ago.
Monitor yourself for symptoms; if you develop any, get tested and isolate yourself, the health department recommends.
If you have any questions or concerns, call (607) 547-4231
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras tells a press conference in SUNY Oneonta’s Dewar Arena today that he’s “optimistic” about the campus reopening Feb. 1 for the spring semester. In the background campus President Dennis Craig. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Student Chris Wilber tries out a saliva test that Malatras called “the best in the world.”
ONEONTA – “Testing is the secret sauce to our success,” SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said today at a noontime press conference as students begin returning to SUNY Oneonta in advance of the Feb. 1 start of the spring semester.
This coming semester, all students will be required to take a weekly swab test, “and we are using the number one saliva test in the world here at SUNY,” said Malatras, who appeared with campus President Dennis Craig at the Dewar Arena, where testing sites have been set up.
The swab, in combination with mask wearing at all times and social distancing, makes him “optimistic” that last fall’s outbreak, where 750 students tested positive in a few days and campus was closed, will be avoided this spring.
ALBANY – Governor Cuomo had a lot of good news on the anti-COVID fight in his daily update delivered overnight. beginning with: “New York State is ready, willing and able to administer 100,000 vaccine doses a week.”
Next week’s allocation is about to arrive, although the governor didn’t get into anticipated doses. “I’m hopeful that the Biden Administration will take steps to increase production and shorten the anticipated timeline,” he said.
In a collaboration of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Lord’s Table, 600 meals – turkey with all the trimmings – had already gone out the door for delivery by noon Thanksgiving Day, when curbside pickup began. Above, Volunteers Rosemary Collie and Keton Kling, both Oneontans, shuttles bags of food to the Lord’s Table. “We were averaging about 10 meals a minute.” said event overseer Mary Southern, seen at right advising Joyce Collier. “This year people are in even more need and we are making sure they all have food This year we planned for 800 meals.” The only lull in the action came when the turkey ran out with a handful of dinners to go. Some volunteers offered up their own meals without hesitation. Others were dispatched to Hannaford and returned with enough turkey to complete the meals. “This is the first year we ever ran out of turkey!” said Southern, “But we will provide!” Volunteer driver Paul Patterson, his car filled with meals, rolled his window down on the way to deliver meals saying, “Mary did an amazing job. It was like clockwork. Henry Ford would have been proud!” (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
COOPERSTOWN – While the flood of COVID cases at SUNY Oneonta is past, new cases still are dribbling in: two involving students in the past three days, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond reported this afternoon.
Before that, only two cases had been reported since Thursday, Oct. 8.
So far, SUNY Oneonta accounts for 744 of 927 that surfaced in Otsego County since the start of the pandemic threat.
At Hartwick College, there have been no cases in several days.
As of today, there are eight active cases in the county, two hospitalizations and seven deaths.
ONEONTA – After reporting no new cases on Sunday, SUNY Oneonta last evening reported another 54 COVID-19 cases had appeared Monday. That brings SUNY’s tally to 651 students, and no employees have yet tested positive, the college reported.
Also last evening, the county Health Department reported 31 cases from the SUNY campus, and said the discrepancy has to to do with timing and double-checking. It reports 685 SUNY cases, 34 more than the college.
COOPERSTOWN – Another new local COVID-19 case was reported today, bring this week’s total to five, and one of the current cases was hospitalized.
That brings us in Otsego County to 117 total cases since March, of which 106 have recovered. The five active cases and six deaths — none in weeks — round out the total.
ALBANY – Starting tomorrow at 8 a.m., New Yorkers 50 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine, Governor Cuomo announced in today’s briefing.
