BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – While the positive test rate of COVID-19 and the hospitalization figures are both on the decline in Erie County, officials remain concerned about the level of spread among younger people.
In their weekly coronavirus update, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein shared their concerns about the proportion of people between age 10 and 39 who have contracted COVID-19. In the past week, more than half of the nearly 1,700 cases has been in that age demographic.
91 people died in Erie County last month.
"That is a fairly substantial increase from March in which there was only 57," Poloncarz said. "The average age of death during the month of April was 71. The average age of death in March was 77. It was 76 in February. It was 81 in January. 43% of the people who died resided in the City of Buffalo."
Burstein said it was good news that reopening has become more aggressive, but said there are concerning trends. Those include people not isolating at home when they're positive, employers making workers work while they're in quarantine, and said there are organizations that are not enforcing distancing or masking.
Nearly half of all Erie County residents have received at least one dose. 77.5% of Erie County residents age 65 and older have received a vaccine. Roughly 30% of those age 16 and 17 have been vaccinated as of Monday.
