Nov. 20, 2021
Soaring local Covid-19 infection rates reach near-record levels
Covid-19 infection rates in Erie County this week became among the highest they have been since the pandemic began.
The 778 new cases reported in the county on Friday made it the third-highest day since the county started tracking cases. Thursday was close behind, as the fourth-highest day.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz urged residents in a tweet on Saturday: “With our hospitals near capacity we REALLY need ALL to take appropriate measures to slow the transmission.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul also has been urging everyone to take precautions so that the state does not have to impose harsher restrictions. She has stopped short, though, of issuing any state mandates.
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Hochul came under fire this weekend from state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Letitia James, who accused the state government of “failing to act to address the Covid crisis in some of the most vulnerable communities in New York State.”
James noted in a tweet that the average percent positive Covid-19 test rate in Western New York has risen to 9.5%. Current hospitalization rates exceed those of last year in some parts of the state, including the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, she said.
“It is time to act now to save lives,” James said. “Anything short of bold action is unacceptable.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
The latest statistics: Covid-19 statistics from state and county departments of health, as well as new data from the New York Times' national Covid-19 tracking project. Read more
Schools on edge as Covid-19 infections rise: Twenty-one months after schools first shut their doors for what was hoped would only be a few weeks, parents are shuddering that the unthinkable might again happen: That schools might be shut down for weeks at a time. Read more
Amid health care staffing crunch, employers adapt with short-term changes and hope for long-term fixes: Health care employment across the country is down by 524,000 since February 2020, with nursing and residential care facilities making up about 80% of the loss, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read more
Bennett versus McQuaid football game postponed: Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz made the announcement via Twitter on Saturday afternoon roughly three hours before the scheduled 6:30 p.m. kickoff. Read more
