Despite having one of the highest COVID-19 transmission rates in New York state, Cattaraugus County won’t be implementing a mask mandate or pandemic-related restrictions anytime soon.
“While we are certainly concerned about rising COVID-19 numbers in Cattaraugus County, we aren’t implementing any mandates at this time,” County Legislature Chairman Howard VanRensselaer, R-Randolph, said Tuesday.
Unlike Erie County, which reimplemented a mask mandate for indoor, public spaces, Cattaraugus County is not under a state of emergency and has not been for months, VanRensselaer said.
“This means any decision on new COVID-19 restrictions would require a vote by the Legislature in consultation with our director of public health,” he said. “I can say safely that at this time a majority of the Legislature doesn’t support any such mandates. We believe businesses, employers and other institutions across our county should implement the safety protocols that make sense for their operations.”
VanRensselaer noted, “Our public health director (Dr. Kevin D. Watkins) has been clear that people should keep social distance, wear masks and above all else get vaccinated, including booster shots. We also support an increase of antibody treatment sites by our county health department.”
VanRensselaer’s statement came after an 87-year-old woman was reported to be the 171st county resident to die as a result of COVID-19 complications, while 100 new cases were reported Tuesday by county health officials.
November is the deadliest month with 32 deaths in the county, surpassing February, when there were 30 total deaths. The 1,556 residents testing positive for the coronavirus so far in November is also a record for the county, surpassing December 2020’s 1,427 recorded cases.
Cattaraugus County will soon pass the 10,000 mark for the number of residents who have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. On Tuesday the total stood at 9,849, with 8,975 total recoveries.
The county’s seven-day average for positivity in testing for the coronavirus was 13.6% as of Tuesday, with 670 active cases, 44 residents hospitalized and 644 quarantined contacts.
Of the 100 new cases reported Tuesday, 77 of the residents were not vaccinated, according to the county health department.
