As COVID infection rates were rising in Western New York counties, State Sen. Sean Ryan echoed the sentiments of Erie County officials, who have said they don’t want to return to public safety mandates but might have to if necessary. Ryan says the problem includes local government inaction and a portion of the public who continues to flaunt rules meant to curb COVID spread.
The Erie County Health Department on Friday posted statistics on COVID infections that were updated through November 18. On that date, 774 new cases were reported. The daily infection rate as of the previous day stood at 9.5%.
774 new COVID-19 cases confirmed for November 18 by ECDOH. 4,265 total cases over the past 7 days. 447 total new cases per 100,000 Erie County residents over the past 7 days. Total cases through November 18: 118,598. @HealthNYGov data at https://t.co/bUCPJy0NcZ pic.twitter.com/LCseJFC8uP
— Erie County Department of Health 😷 (@ECDOH) November 19, 2021
“We are getting ourselves into a pickle in Western New York. We keep having some of the highest infection rates in New York State,” Ryan said in Buffalo Friday. “If you look down at Cattaraugus County last week, it had infection rates up into 12%. But then you look at their vaccination rate. And the same with Allegany County.”
As of data posted Friday, the daily infection rate in Cattaraugus County was up to 17.4%, with a seven-day average at 12.1%.
He says while state legislators have removed many of the powers from the governor and returned them to local governments, some local governments have not done enough to stem the spread of coronavirus.
“With the exception of Erie County, very few local governments have acted,” Ryan said. “No local governments have put rules in place about bars and restaurants and masks or vaccinations. And a lot of local county governments and surrounding counties have barely done anything to promote vaccinations.”
Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted Thursday that the state had reached 80 percent vaccination. Ryan says if residents want to see the COVID pandemic end, more need to be vaccinated.
Today we hit a new milestone: 80% of adult New Yorkers are now fully vaccinated. This is huge!
— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 18, 2021
Thank you to everyone who has gotten their shot so far! With the holidays coming up, now’s the time to roll up your sleeve to protect yourself, your loved ones & your community.
Another problem facing the public, he suggests, is the remaining portion of those who are unvaccinated are shunning rules including masks in public places.
“And by not following those rules, they're infecting other members of the community. They're impacting the ability of schoolchildren to get educated. They're impacting the ability of our economy to keep growing and prospering,” he said. “We've got a cohort in America who believes, while they're even in the ICUs, that vaccines and COVID is some sort of farce.”
