COVID-19 cases expected to surge by early April

By Andy Gardner

St. Lawrence and Franklin counties have announced their first confirmed COVID-19 infections.

In Akwesasne’s neighboring counties, there have been several confirmed cases.

As of Tuesday, March 24, St. Lawrence County had 30 people in quarantine. They’ve tested 229 people, with 85 negative and 144 pending. The following day, the county announced their first confirmed COVID-19 case.

The confirmed case is a patient from St. Lawrence County. The local health department is getting in touch with anyone who may have been in contact with this individual. No additional information is being released at this time due to patient privacy laws, county officials said.

St. Lawrence Health System and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center are working together to implement testing criteria and plan for increased hospital capacity, a news release from the county said. They currently have fewer than 20 ICU beds between both organizations.

The same day, Franklin County reported their first confirmed infection. The person is a resident of Franklin County and has been under quarantine since March 21, remains in isolation at home and is receiving follow up care.

The Franklin County Department of Public Health is conducting an investigation to determine where this individual may have been exposed and any contact tracing this individual may have had prior to quarantine. There are over 60 individuals that are in isolation and are awaiting test results. There have been 47 people who have tested negative.

In response to the Franklin County infection, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe released a statement urging people to abide by the CDC’s social distancing and hygiene guidelines.

“The Tribe’s Emergency Operations Center remains in constant contact with it’s emergency response partners, including local health agencies, and will continue to share updates as they become available. In the meantime, the EOC continues to ask individuals to please practice social distancing and to self-quarantine if you traveled outside of a 50-mile radius of the Akwesasne community,” said SRMT Emergency Management and Safety Director Derek Comins.

Clinton County has confirmed two cases. It’s not clear if one of those two is the state inmate at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora who recently tested positive and is being held in isolation. That inmate is one of three in the entire New York state prison system who have tested positive. Also, a Dannemora corrections officer tested positive for COVID-19.

Essex County has also reported at least one case. And Jefferson County has reported two, one of which was a part-time employee at Fort Drum who lives in the Albany area.

“Franklin County is strongly recommending that any traveler who is coming to the North Country self-quarantine/isolate for 14 days. Per the Executive order, stay at home. Everyone is encouraged to follow the CDC and Public Health guidelines to avoid exposure to COVID-19. Anyone that is feeling ill should contact their medical providers for further instruction. You may be required to isolate at home. Hospital beds are being reserved for the most severe cases. Please limit your exposure to others and stay home. Information is available and volunteers are standing by to provide assistance. Please contact the telephone numbers listed for any concerns you may have. You are not alone,” Franklin County officials said in a news release.

Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says coronavirus cases are sweeping across New York state faster than anticipated and the number of needed hospital beds to treat all of the patients may be more than initially expected.

At a Tuesday, March 24 press conference, Gov. Cuomo said the state is now projecting a need for 140,000 hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients, and 40,000 in intensive care units.

The state now has 53,000 beds, of which 3,000 are ICUs.

Cuomo said the cases are doubling every three days, which puts the peak at 14 to 21 days away. Experts had initially forecast a peak around the end of April.

“We haven’t flattened the curve and the curve is actually increasing,” Cuomo said in the televised announcement.

Cuomo said the state has found 7,000 ventilators, which isn’t enough.

As of Wednesday, March 25, New York state had over 30,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases with at least 285 deaths. Of the confirmed cases, about 5,000 were new cases. Of those who test positive, 12% are hospitalized (about 8,800) and 3% of those who tested positive are in ICU beds (888 patients), the governor announced.

Cuomo said they are mostly elderly and people with previous conditions and compromised immune systems.

“That 3%, that’s my mother, that’s your mother … these are people we love, these are your grandparents and we’re going to protect every one of them,” Cuomo said March 25.

That’s more than half of all infections in the United States. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the US could potentially become the epicenter of the worldwide public health crisis.

The announcement came as President Donald Trump announced he may want the country to resume business as usual in the next couple of weeks, right around when cases are projected to spike to their worst.

That could potentially cause a large number of deaths over the coming months throughout the country, and push the healthcare system well beyond its limitations.

Meanwhile, Onondaga County officials have found 60 ventilators for their hospitals, but they aren’t saying where they came from.

The Syracuse Post Standard (syracuse.com) reported that Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon refused to say from where he procured the ventilators and extra COVID-19 test kits.

“We’re not going to give away our supply chains right now because it is that competitive,’’ McMahon told the Post Standard.

With a lack of federal direction, this highlights how the American fight against the coronavirus is being waged by each state on its own, and in many cases each county on its own.

Coronavirus can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Because these droplets can travel up to six feet, public health experts advise maintaining six feet of distance from others.

The virus can also remain on a surface or object and enter the body through the mouth, nose, or eyes. This is why it is important to wash your hands before touching your face.

It takes 2 to 14 days to develop symptoms after exposure to the virus. The average is about 5 days.

Some of the most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.

People should seek testing if they are showing symptoms, if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, or if they have recently traveled to one of the high-risk areas experiencing an outbreak.

Suggestions to prevent transmission include: wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; avoid physical contact like handshakes and hugs; stay home if you feel sick; avoid large crowds; abstain from unnecessary travel; and practice social distancing -- stay six feet from other people.

Tribal officials urge people who may need testing to call medical centers first, don’t visit them: SRMT Medical Outreach Services at (518) 358-3141 Ext. 7130 or MCA Community Health Program at (613) 575-2341 Ext. 3220.

Emergency operation centers can be reached on the American side at (518) 320-0019 and on the Canadian side at (613) 575-5005 or (613) 575-2331.

More info: Franklin County Emergency Services COVID-19 Hotline: (518) 481-1111; (medical questions) Alice Hyde Medical Center: (518) 481-2700; NYS Department of Health COVID-19 24/7 Hotline: 1-888-364-3065; Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 1-800-267-7120

For more information and preventive measures regarding COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus), visit the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s website at http://www.cdc.gov and the New York State Department of Health at http://www.health.ny.gov

For local updates, please follow the Tribe and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Facebook page and visit their websites at http://www.srmt-nsn.gov and http://www.akwesase.ca, as well as listen to 97.3fm.