Westchester Keeping Eye On Coronavirus Infection Increase

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — While the county has seen a steady rise in the number of coronavirus infections over the past few weeks — as has the rest of the state — Westchester officials said they are keeping an eye on it but feel there's no reason to change protocols.

At his weekly briefing Tuesday, County Executive George Latimer said the rise is attributable to the colder weather and the two-week period after Halloween.

"The more we are in social contact with each other," he said, the more those numbers go up."

Latimer said the numbers from Sunday showed 1,792 active cases of the coronavirus, meaning people who have tested positive but have not yet cleared the two-week period during which they are considered infectious.

In comparison, he said when the delta variant was found in the county at the end of June into July, there was a maximum of 2,800 active cases. The peak last January, which was pre-vaccine availability, was 11,500, and at the beginning of the pandemic, the maximum was 12,000 active cases.

"This roller coaster ride we are on is another upswing," Latimer said. "We are rising but it's not as steep a rise as you might see."

While the active cases are increasing, he said, the number of people hospitalized or who died has been relatively flat. As of Saturday, there were 41 people hospitalized with COVID-19-related illness, and it has been over a week with no fatalities. The number of death remains at 2,354 since the beginning of the pandemic.

"What we are seeing now is an increase in the number of infections, because we are in closer quarters, but the severity of the infections is not increasing in proportion," Latimer said.

He said the county is approaching 92 percent of adults who have received at least one shot of a vaccine against the coronavirus, and the thought is that there is a correlation between the level of vaccinations and the lack of infections.

Latimer said county health officials will continue to track the numbers to see if the trend line holds up.

The next push is to get children age 5 to 11 vaccinated. To that end, the county health department is offering COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The next one will be Saturday. Go here for more information and to register.