As it does every Friday, the Columbia County Department of Health has released its breakdown of COVID cases by municipality and nursing home. In the past week, there have been 79 new cases.
There are very few places that didn't see new cases this week. Two localities saw new cases in the double digits: Greenport with sixteen, and Ghent with twelve. They were followed by Hudson with seven new cases; Stuyvesant with six; Claverack and Germantown each with five; Chatham, Clermont, Kinderhook, and Valatie each with three; Elizaville, Hillsdale, Livingston, and Philmont each with two; and Ancram, Copake, Gallatin, New Lebanon, Stockport, and Taghkanic each with one. Two nursing homes made the list for the first time this week--the Firemen's Home and Ghent Rehab and Nursing--each with one case of COVID-19.
As always, in the list below, the first number is the number of cases reported last Friday, and the second number is the number of cases reported today. These are total numbers of cases since the first case was reported in Columbia County on March 20. The number of active cases in the county today is 92.
Austerlitz 1 | 1
Ancram 9 | 10
Canaan 18 | 18
Chatham 37 | 40
Claverack 46 | 51
Clermont 13 | 16
Copake 26 | 27
Craryville 3 | 3
East Chatham 2 | 2
Elizaville 4 | 6
Gallatin 5 | 6
Germantown 12 | 17
Ghent 41 | 53
Greenport 60 | 76
Hillsdale 19 | 21
Hudson 71 | 78
Kinderhook 61 | 64
Livingston 33 | 35
New Lebanon 14 | 15
Niverville 5 | 5
Philmont 11 | 13
Stockport 18 | 19
Stottville 5 | 5
Stuyvesant 28 | 34
Taghkanic 9 | 10
Valatie 33 | 36
Nursing Homes
Barnwell 144 | 144
Firemen's Home 0 | 1
Ghent Assisted Living 46 | 46
Ghent Rehab & Nursing 0 | 1
Livingston Hills 6 | 6
Pine Haven 51 | 51
If we had contact tracing data we may have some idea where the hot spots are and how to treat them. Even a rough evaluation would do. For instance, are people congregating at Stewart's in Germantown? The post office? Greenport would be more difficult to assess but any information may help. The county health department needs to be proactive. Posting numbers alone is futile. Are some businesses more prone to infection? A restaurant, a bar or multi family housing? Meaning, they need to monitor the business,the customers and enhance all protocols. Otherwise it's another deterrent to be out there.
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ReplyDeleteYou're right, of course, but pandemic fatigue is a very real thing we all need to stay vigilant against, and I understand what is almost a subconscious urge to enjoy what we can of a normal lived experience before shutting ourselves away for a difficult winter.
DeleteI also have to acknowledge the very real challenges to Hudson's small businesses, many of whom count on both summer and the holiday season to stay afloat. This is going to be a challenging season for them and for their employees. I can't help but think that if members of the tourism board had focused on aggressively supporting these businesses instead of sponsoring their pet projects, we might be better-equipped to handle this season's unique challenges.