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Stay up to date with the latest news on the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. We'll post regular updates from NPR and regional news from the WRVO newsroom. You can also find updates on our live blog.

Number of coronavirus cases in Onondaga County up to 89

Tom Magnarelli
/
WRVO News (file photo)

There's been a big uptick in the number of positive cases of the coronavirus in Onondaga County in the last day, rising from 60 to 81. County Executive Ryan McMahon said Wednesday that’s out of a total of about 1550 tests, and some of the backlogged results from last week coming in. What concerns him is there is still a high number of young people testing positive, with 20 cases involving individuals in their 20s.

"Look, these 20 individuals will probably all recover," McMahon said. "What I’m worried about is the 40 or 50 people who are quarantined because of these 20 people, will they all recover?"

McMahon is losing patience with young people he said continue to travel, specifically those going to the New York metro area, which is a coronavirus hotspot. He also said there may be some people who aren’t answering phone calls from the health department in a timely manner.

"Let’s be smart. Let’s stay home. And certainly if you are not feeling well, stay home. And if you are quarantined, by law you must stay home," he said. "And you need to stay in touch with the health department. That means picking up your phone and staying in contact, because we don’t need to be sending people around chasing you, or going to your house because you aren’t answering your phone"

McMahon also noted that quicker turnaround at testing sites means individuals who need to get retested for the virus can do that now.  Earlier, there were weeklong wait times for the return of some lab tests, but that’s improved in the last few days.

Breakdown of cases:

  • 40 females
  • 41 males
  • 3 cases under age 19
  • 20 cases involving people ages 20-29
  • 10 cases involving people ages 30-39
  • 9 cases involving people ages 40-49
  • 11 cases involving people ages 50-59
  • 12 cases involving people ages 60-69
  • 10 cases involving people ages 70-79
  • 2 cases involving people ages 80-89

See a map of locations of positive cases here.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.