BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – There are 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Erie County and officials continue to expect more cases as the pandemic is just getting started.
"We are just entering the storm," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said during his press briefing on Wednesday night in the Rath Building in Downtown Buffalo.
The @ECDOH reports the final set of tests have been run for the day. Six (6) more positive cases were identified. In total, 53 tests of Erie County residents were run today: seven (7) were positive and the rest negative. There are now 27 confirmed #COVIDー19 cases in Erie County. pic.twitter.com/Bv8lstdnxU
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) March 19, 2020Entering Wednesday, there were 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus. During Poloncarz' briefing at 6 p.m. he announced that there was one new case. Before the night finished, six more positive cases were announced through the Erie County Department of Health.
Those individuals include:
- a male in his 40s- a female in her 30s- a male in his 20s- a male in his 20s- a female in her 40s- a female in her 40s
The new cases feature residents from Lancaster, Cheektowaga, Williamsville, Hamburg, and two in Buffalo. Amherst currently has the most number of cases at seven.
There are new potential public exposures including:
- March 10: West Jet Airline, Flight 4 from London to Toronto, arriving at 11:10 a.m.
- March 10:, United Flight 4233 from Chicago to Buffalo, arriving 8:30 p.m.
- March 10: WellNow Urgent Care on Transit Road in East Amherst
- March 11: 3-7 p.m., Larkin Center Office Building at 701 Seneca Street in BuffaloMarch 11: Late morning, U.S. Attorney's Office, Delaware Ave. Buffalo
- March 13: 1 p.m., Walmart on Niagara Falls Blvd. in North Tonawanda
- March 14: 3-3:30 p.m., Wegmans in Blasdell
- March 14: 7:30 p.m., Bed Bath and Beyond on McKinley Pkwy. in Blasdell
- March 14: 8:15 p.m., Buy Buy Baby in WilliamsvilleMarch 15: 11:30 a.m., Orange Theory Fitness on McKinley Pkwy.
- March 15: 1 p.m., Walmart on Niagara Falls Blvd. in North TonawandaMarch 15: midday, CVS on Main Street in East Aurora
- March 16 3 p.m., Target on Niagara Falls Blvd. in Amherst
Cases of coronavirus in Erie County range between late teens and into the 60s. Officials continue to urge precautions to protect senior citizens, pregnant women, and individuals with underlying health conditions.
More than 200 people in Erie County are under quarantine but the pressing issue in Erie County is testing capabilities. The county has already reached its capacity of 450 tests and are expecting approximately 200 swab tests to come in on Thursday.
"Until further supplies for testing and sample collection are received by Erie County, ECDOH will not be scheduling sample collection or accepting samples for testing at its Public Health Lab," Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said. "When we are able to resume testing at our Public Health Lab, we will make that announcement."
There is a shortage massive shortage of testing kits that are available across the state. Burstein said demand is high across the country but that the county is utilizing all resources available to get the tests. She said private labs such as Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp continue to have testing capabilities, though Burstein said they may not be as convenient as the public labs.
If you are already scheduled for sample collection by ECDOH, you will still have your sample collected and tested at the scheduled time.
Deputy County Executive Maria Whyte said that area YMCA's in the area will be dedicated only for daycare and are contracting with more than ten area school districts to provide the service free of charge for kids age 5 to 12 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Health care workers and first responders need to only provide proof of employment in order to take advantage of the service.
The county is also working at contacting area universities for similar services.
"The most important thing the public can do at this time is to not send your kid to daycare if you are working from home and you are not a first responder," Whyte said.
