Otsego County is seeing the highest surge in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, the Otsego County Department of Health (DOH) said in a statement Thursday.
“It is critical that everyone take responsibility to reduce the spread,” Otsego County DOH Public Health Director Heidi Bond said. “We know that social distancing, wearing masks, and getting vaccinated works. Please stay home if you are not feeling well.”
According to the Otsego County DOH , active cases are no longer going to be recorded because it is not possible to get an accurate number with limited contact tracing and case investigation.
After a year of separation, Cathy Weir of Cooperstown trims her mom Elinore Sorbera’s pageboy. Now in her 90s, Mrs. Sorbera was head nurse at the county’s former Meadows Nursing Home on Route 33, predecessor to Coopers- town Center, where she resides now.
A decade ago, Kent Turner was working in the kitchen at Oneonta’s B-Side Ballroom, the popular nightspot, when he noticed a vivacious woman and her girlfriends were becoming regulars.
“We starting talking,” said Kent, and one thing led to another. “She had a heart of gold.”
Kent and Jackie fell in love.
Soon, the couple was attending Oneonta’s Community Gospel Church. For seven happy years, “she was really helpful in turning my life around,” he said.
But it wasn’t to continue.
Jackie was stricken with premature dementia in her late 50s, and she was admitted to Cooperstown Center’s Serenity Place, where her loving companion visited her regularly – until he couldn’t.
In February 2020, as COVID-19 loomed, state regulations forced Cooperstown Center to close its doors to visitors. For 13 months, not just Jackie and Kent, but the Center’s more than 150 residents were cut off from their families.
“When we had to close those doors,” said Lacey Rinker, director of nursing, “it breaks your heart.”
COOPERSTOWN – One of the hurdles to ensuring a successful season for Dreams Park and All Star Village this season is being lifted, Governor Cuomo announced yesterday.
Starting April 1, a three-day quarantine for domestic travel to New York State will no longer be required. (Mandatory quarantine will remain for international travelers.)
Dreams Park is seeking state Health Department approval to open the season June 1, according to the organization’s local attorney, Gar Gozigian.
Richard Sternberg, retired Bassett Hospital orthopedic surgeon, is providing his professional perspective weekly during the COVID-19 threat. A village trustee, he resides in Cooperstown.
Like many of us this Thanksgiving, my family had a very truncated get together and dinner.
My daughter visited from Annapolis, Md. She had been self-isolating, had rarely gone out, always took precautions, and was tested the week before she decided to come visit.
We decided that the risk of being infected by her was very, very minimal after all of these precautions, and invited her.
I myself have been following precautions and avoiding contact except when absolutely necessary. My housemate works at Bassett Hospital. She takes all precautions and has refrained from unnecessary contact.
Once my daughter arrived Monday before Thanksgiving, our pod had no contact with any other individuals throughout her visit.
Nevertheless, we were instructed to self-isolate this past weekend.
My housemate, who has had a mild chronic cough for seven months, decided to go to the Bassett after-hours care center. She was evaluated, prescribed steroid medication and an antihistamine, and was told it was probably chronic bronchitis and she was discharged.
A COVID-19 test was taken and she was told that she needed to isolate and everyone else in her pod needed to isolate until the test came back and it could be determined whether it was positive or negative.
We were told this would take two to three days.
Personally, I felt that the probability that my housemate had active COVID-19 based on her history of present illness was no greater than that of the general population in this area.
The process she had was chronic, there were no acute changes, she showed no common symptoms of COVID-19, and she was afebrile.
Even if this had been triggered by infection with the virus, which itself was very unlikely, the active stage was long passed by many months ago.
Given the situation I was tempted and briefly considered whether the instructions were valid.
Nevertheless, we followed them to the letter and only today when the lab report came back “no detectable virus” did we stop our immediate self-quarantine.
My daughter, who had driven home is going through a two-week quarantine just for visiting, even though Cooperstown has one of the lowest rates of infection in the country right now
It’s tempting to say that we know better, we understand the odds better, or we don’t feel bad and ignore medical advice.
Nevertheless, it is critical to follow these instructions. It’s better to err on the side of caution then to assume that there aren’t any problems and proceed from that point.
The rate of infection has been going up constantly to new daily highs. The number of confirmed infections daily in the United States has been going up dramatically. The number of daily deaths is going up.
It’s still not clear how many people have actually been infected. A study last week from the CDC suggested that the actual infection rate may be up to eight times greater than the documented infection rate.
This, of course, would decrease the rate of death from the infection, since the number of deaths divided by the new number of total cases would be decreased. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t decrease the daily number of deaths due to the infection.
I was annoyed, in denial, argumentative, and generally all around ticked off to be told what to do when I didn’t think it was necessary. But that’s why we have medical professionals and of course a doctor who chooses to treat himself, has a fool for a patient.
Thankfully we got the all-clear today and we can go back to our lives albeit in the new normal. Before we did get permission to end quarantine a day of work was lost, several appointments had to be canceled or rescheduled and a pending important clinic visit for myself was in the process of being rescheduled. But it was necessary and correct in the fight against the virus.
ONEONTA – SUNY Oneonta is expected to run out of space for quarantining students by tomorrow, a college spokesman said, and administrators will hold a planning meeting this afternoon to explore options.
Already, the college has set aside three dorms with a total capacity of 137, where quarantining students, who have tested positive but aren’t necessarily showing symptoms, must remain for 14 days.
Also, Mayor Gary Herzig confirmed this afternoon that off-campus students are being quarantined at the Marriott on Southside, on the hill behind Wendy’s.
Farmers’ Markets have been classified as “essential businesses”, and are permitted to continue under the governor’s “New York State On PAUSE” program:
ONEONTA FARMERS MARKET – 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Market runs indoors at Main St. Garage Walkway during winter, outdoors on Muller Plaza during summer. For the health of the community, patrons are asked to limit hand-to-hand contact, frequently wash/sanitize hands. Customers can also reach out to vendors for pre-order & market pick-up. Main St, Oneonta. Info, www.oneontafarmersmarket.com
BIRD ATLAS – 7:30 p.m. Learn about history, importance of the third Breeding Bird Atlas with project coordinator Julie Hart and Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society. Elm Park United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut St., Oneonta. In process of shifting to a virtual event people will be able to participate in from home computers. Follow the link for updates. 607-397-3815 or visit www.facebook.com/DelawareOtsegoAudubonSociety/
MORNING PROGRAM – 10 a.m. Join library staff each morning for books, songs, & fingerplays to keep the kids aged 2-5 entertained. Huntington Memorial Library, Oneonta. www.facebook.com/hmloneonta/
COVID Update January 13th
