Oswego County Announces Change in Reporting Process – 

OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang announced today, Tuesday, Dec. 15, that 55 additional residents have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 2,767.

Huang said that beginning today, the County Health Department has changed its reporting process and will now follow the New York State Department of Health dashboard in reporting the number of COVID-19-related deaths by “County of Residence.”

Since the pandemic started, the County Health Department has reported deaths as attributed to COVID-19 after the department receives official verification such as a coroner’s report or death certificate that confirms COVID as the cause of death.

As the virus spreads with more people getting sick and dying, this process has created a backlog in the processing and delivery of reports. The hospitals, nursing homes, and adult care facilities report deaths directly to the State Department of Health every day. The County Health Department's data is based on death certificates and medical examiners' reports received from towns and cities and medical examiners.

To date, the Oswego County Health Department had verified and reported six deaths while the State’s dashboard as of 3 p.m. today reported 19 COVID-19 related deaths of Oswego County residents since the pandemic began.

Legislature Chairman Jim Weatherup said the increase from 6 to 19 occurred over several weeks.

“Our process of waiting for death certificates was taking too long in this environment, and resulted in a relatively large, and unacceptable, discrepancy between the county’s numbers and the numbers reported by New York State,” he said. “In order to stay true to our desire to be a reliable and credible source of information, we now find the need to become more efficient in verifying and reporting COVID deaths. Therefore, effective today, we are changing our process and will use New York State’s data going forward.”

This report is current as of 3 p.m. Dec. 15.

Please know that these numbers fluctuate frequently. Recovered people are not deducted from the total number of positive cases.

• Total # of tests conducted: 93,107
• Total # of positive cases: 2,767
• Total # of positive cases released: 2,164
• Total deaths: 19
• Total # of positive cases active: 584
• Total # of negative results:  89,757
• Total # of people in mandatory isolation/quarantine:  1,416

Dr. Christina Liepke, Oswego County Medical Officer, said COVID-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate.

“It took Oswego County six months to get to 300 cases in the beginning of this pandemic, and we now are at a point when our county has 300 new cases of covid-19 every six days or less,” said Dr. Liepke. “That is 300 more neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones in our small rural community affected by this pandemic every six days.”

Senior Public Health Educator Diane Oldenburg discourages people from gathering for the holidays.

“We know it is so difficult this time of year, but it is not safe for different households to get together, even if they are from the same family. This includes dinners, birthday parties, kids’ sleepovers, and holiday parties,” said Oldenburg.

“If you are tested for COVID-19, please remain quarantined until you receive your test results and are contacted by the County Health Department with instructions. You may receive your test results before the health department receives the results. We are working through a backlog of patients,” said Public Health Educator Sonia Robinson.

Those who have tested positive need to stay home and isolate from others in the household. This means separating yourself in a room that is not shared with others. Always stay six feet away from others, use a separate bathroom if possible, and disinfect after each use.  Wear a facemask if you must be around others and wash your hands frequently. 

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, chills, repeated shaking with chills, gastrointestinal illness and new loss of taste or smell.

Health officials strongly urge residents to take these precautions:

• Stay home if you are sick and keep your children home if they are sick.
• Wear a face mask or covering over your nose and mouth.
• Avoid non-essential gatherings of all types.
• Keep six feet from other people.
• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before eating.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Call your healthcare provider from home if you are experiencing symptoms such as a fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
• Do not go to the emergency department unless you are experiencing life-threatening conditions.

A list of testing sites and additional information is posted on the health department’s COVID-19 page at health.oswegocounty.com/covid-19.

For more information, call the Oswego County Health Department COVID-19 hotline at 315-349-3330 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information about emotional supports, visit the Oswego County Department of Social Services Division of Mental Hygiene at www.oswegocounty.com/mentalhygiene.

New York State provides online links to report violations of health and safety restrictions and requirements for businesses, gatherings and individuals. To file a complaint about a business, location or incident in your community, go to https://mylicense.custhelp.com/app/ask. To file a complaint against your employer or place of work, go to https://labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/coronavirus-complaints.shtm.

Under New York State Public Health Law, the Oswego County Health Department is the sole local public health authority regarding the COVID-19 pandemic response over all persons and entities within the County of Oswego. The Oswego County Health Department works closely with New York State Department of Health regarding COVID-19 monitoring, response and reporting.