Three Cattaraugus County residents died of COVID-19 on Thursday and another 79 tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 79 new cases in Cattaraugus County included four residents at the Salamanca Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. That follows 34 residents at Eden Heights of Olean who tested positive on Wednesday.
The toll for the year stood at 50 deaths and 2,565 cases as of 6 p.m. Thursday, as reported by the Cattaraugus County Health Department.
The first COVID-19 death in the county was recorded April 23. There were two deaths in April, two in May, five in September, 12 in October and 11 in November.
As of Wednesday, there were 21 deaths in December, which was also the worst month of the pandemic for new cases with 1,388 — more than half the total over 10 months.
Thursday’s COVID-19 deaths involved three men ages 57, 80 and 90, all of whom developed respiratory failure and were unable to overcome their illnesses despite aggressive medical treatment.
The positivity on Thursday was 8.4% as compared to 13.7% on Wednesday. The seven-day rolling average o0n Thursday was 9.9% as compared to 9.6% on Wednesday. The 14-day average was 8.3% Thursday as compared to 9.6% on Wednesday.
Forty-six of the new cases were men, who make up 1,164 or 45.4% of the total, and 33 of the new cases involved women, who make up 1,368, or 54.6% of the total.
Only 17 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the southeast part of the county on Thursday. The new cases pushed the total in that part of the county to 1,494, 58.2% of the entire county.
The northeast part of the county accounted for 37 new cases, pushing the total there to 399. There were 18 new cases in the southwest for a total of 404. In the northwest, there were seven new cases for a total of 268.
The health department is following 504 active cases in addition to 935 people who are quarantined because they are close contacts of a COVID-positive person and 103 people in traveler’s quarantine.
The number of people in the county who have recovered from COVID-19 has risen to 2,011.
Residents are urged to wear a mask out in public places or when spending time with people during the holiday who do not live in your household.
Keep a social distance of six feet from others and wash your hands with soap and water frequently. Stay home if you are sick, even if it is a mild case.
Those wishing to get tested can register for a test at www.cattco.org/covid-19-test or call 938-9119 or 938-2265.
