With WNY's Covid-19 rate the highest in the state, Poloncarz warns of new shutdown

“None of us want to see the state do the ultimate, which is saying, ‘You guys, if you can’t control yourselves, we’re shutting you down,’ " Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said.

“That would devastate a lot of businesses that have already been severely hurt," Poloncarz said. "If they had to shut down indoor dining, or bars had to shut down again, a lot of them that are hanging by the edge, on the precipice, would probably close. And it’s a reality. It could happen.

The main reason Erie County is seeing an upswing in Covid-19 cases, Poloncarz said, is that too many people have simply stopped caring.

“We should not be the highest region in New York State, and the only reason we are is that people are not taking it seriously anymore,” Poloncarz said. “I believe there’s a percentage of the population, 25 to 30%, who've basically said the heck with it, some who believe it’s a hoax. It’s not a hoax.”

Other states have backtracked on reopenings after their caseloads flared up.

“I do not want to see that happen here. It could happen,” Poloncarz said.

Poloncarz raised concern about college students becoming a source of new virus spread. He warned that the county has authority to break up parties of more than 50 people and could even shut down fraternity and sorority houses where large events occur.

“We will break up anything that appears to be violating the standards,” Poloncarz said. “If they refuse, they would be cited.”

He said an analysis of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases at the University at Buffalo and on other local campuses showed that most of the students who were added to the positive case list obtained a test because they felt sick. Most live off campus and had recently attended parties.

Poloncarz said anyone who attended a college house party in the past week needs to get a Covid-19 test at once.

For the week ending Saturday, 132 of the county’s 328 new cases were among those under age 30.

"People are still engaging in those behaviors,” Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said. “We’ve sacrificed so much to get down to the low percentage that we’ve had so far. Unfortunately, so far this week, in just the couple days this week, we’ve had about almost a 2% positivity rate."

Of the 6,276 Covid-19 tests administered in Western New York on Tuesday, 1.7% were positive, according to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's Wednesday morning update.

It marked the 12th time in 13 days that Western New York had the highest positive test rate among the state's nine regions. No other region exceeded 1%.

According to state data, the five-county Western New York region added 109 positive cases Tuesday – just the second time since May the region's daily total has topped 100.

Erie County's daily total of 70 was above recent averages, while Chautauqua County recorded its second-highest total of the pandemic with 23. Also, Cattaraugus County had a daily high of 10 cases, according to state data. Niagara County had six cases and Allegany had none.

The governor tweeted Tuesday afternoon with a message targeted to the area, saying: "Residents of Buffalo and Western NY: The infection rate in your region is higher than in the rest of the state. Wear a mask to protect yourself and reduce your risk to exposure. #MaskUp."

Residents of Buffalo and Western NY:The infection rate in your region is higher than in the rest of the state.Wear a mask to protect yourself and reduce your risk to exposure.#MaskUp

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 1, 2020

According to state Department of Health spokesman Jeffrey Hammond, the appointment-only, first-come, first-served rapid testing sites the state set up in Western New York was reaching full capacity as of Tuesday evening. More than 3,500 rapid tests were conducted through Monday, with testing averaging 160 tests per site, per day, he said. 

"We were hoping for a robust turnout, and we expected nothing less from this community because they understand the importance of getting tested," Hammond said.

The state did not break out general test results from the rapid test results. 

Western New York's upswing in positive cases comes as the statewide numbers continue to remain low. The state recorded its 26th straight day with a positive rate less than 1%. Tuesday's statewide rate was 0.8%, with 708 of 88,447 tests positive. 

Western New York's seven-day average of the coronavirus positive test rate, a metric used by the state to measure the rate over an extended period, remained at 2% for the third straight day. Western New York's daily positive rate has now been above 1% for 15 straight days.

According to state hospitalization data, Western New York had 32 individuals hospitalized due to Covid-19 on Tuesday. That's the fifth straight day that number has been above 30 after the total was in the 20s for most of August. 

Erie County reported three coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, while Chautauqua County reported one. The four deaths were the first reported in the region in a week. According to News records, Western New York had 12 coronavirus deaths in all of August – nine in Erie County, three in Niagara County. 

State data showed Erie County with a positive test rate of 1.6% for Tuesday, while its seven-day average was 1.7%. The county's seven-day average in that metric has been above 1.5% since Aug. 23, after it had been below that mark for much of the summer months.

Chautauqua County, which has combated a recent outbreak at Dunkirk's Fieldbrook Foods processing plant, conducted 653 tests Tuesday for a daily positive rate of 3.5%. State data put the county's seven-day rolling average at 2.8%, the seventh straight day that figure has been above 2%. 

Cattaraugus County's numbers have jumped in the past week. With a total of 242 tests Tuesday, the county's positive test rate was 4.1%, putting its seven-day average positive rate at 1.6%, the highest it has been since May.