Ulster Sees 45 New Coronavirus Cases

KINGSTON, NY — Ulster County saw a surge of new coronavirus cases over the past weekend. County Executive Pat Ryan said that the county has developed and implemented a COVID-19 Rapid Response plan in order to stay ahead of reports across the nation showing an increase of positive cases.

At the end of last week, Ulster County saw 45 new cases of the coronavirus. There were 25 on Thursday, 11 on Friday and nine on Saturday, marking three consecutive days in which the county saw an increase in positive cases.

Officials said the new cases were connected to a series of graduation parties held in the town of Marlborough, a manufacturing facility, workers at an apple orchard in southern Ulster and a traveling youth softball team.

There were also recent cases among inmates at two state prisons.

Ryan said people need to recognize the county is still engaged in the fight against the new coronavirus.

"Now is not the time to let our guard down," he said. "As we see cases continue to rise, we must double down on safety precautions which we know work — wearing masks, social distancing and washing our hands — and continue to keep them up. We each have a part to play in ensuring the health and safety of our community."

The Rapid Response five-step plan works to identify, investigate, isolate, communicate and enforce in anticipation of potential cases. The plan will focus on identifying cases through robust testing capacity, investigation through contact tracing, isolation through issuing quarantine, communication through keeping the public informed and continued enforcement of the PAUSE order.

There are currently 143 active cases of the new coronavirus and 87 fatalities in Ulster County.

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