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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.

Onondaga County moves from COVID-19 emergency to pandemic recovery

Tom Magnarelli
/
WRVO News (file photo)
Onondaga County officials are focusing on community recovery from COVID-19

Onondaga County officials say the county is no longer facing a COVID-19 emergency from a public health standpoint. 

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon says on Monday, he’ll be reviewing all emergency orders related to responding to COVID-19, and he won’t be continuing most of them.

That’s assuming the current trends continue. McMahon said there are fewer than 100 active COVID-19 cases in the community, the lowest number since the second week of the pandemic.

“We can continue to focus on vaccinating, but also recovery,” said McMahon.  “There’s many things going on in the community that are related to what we have all been through for the last 16 months, and we need to address those issues.”

County officials say providing adequate mental health services will be a top priority going forward, including a major initiative to bring support into schools for students and their families for the next academic year.

Another top focus will be getting the economy back on track. That will mean another round of the county’s restaurant gift card matching program, which McMahon called a wild success.

"We went out with the rest of the unclaimed vouchers for our restaurant gift card program.  They were gone, $75,000 was gone, within 18 minutes," said McMahon.

Onondaga County also plans to dedicate more resources to help the many people in the community who are dealing with poverty or food insecurity.

Jessica Cain is a freelance reporter for WRVO, covering issues around central New York. Most recently, Jessica was a package producer at Fox News in New York City, where she worked on major news events, including the 2016 presidential conventions and election. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter and anchor for multiple media outlets in central and northern New York. A Camillus native, Jessica enjoys exploring the outdoors with her daughters, going to the theater, playing the piano, and reading.