County Reviews Steps Taken Amid COVID-19 Crisis

By: Shea O’Malley

OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County Legislature Chairman James Weatherup held a news conference today, April 3, to update the county community on COVID-19 within the county.

Also attending the conference was Oswego County Health Department Medical Director Dr. Christina Liepke and Oswego Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Duane Tull.

Weatherup shared news of nine Oswego County residents recovering from the coronavirus; the residents having met the criteria sustainable from further quarantine.

“This is great news for our community. Most people do recover from this disease. So far, our numbers have been consistent with the state and national averages,” Weatherup said. “Most COVID-19 patients can recover at home, and that has been our experience.”

Weatherup reviewed some of the steps that the Oswego County government has taken to protect residents and reduce the spread of the virus. 

“First, I want to assure you that our health professionals, first responders, law enforcement, human service agencies and many other partners are working around the clock to make sure Oswego County has the equipment and resources to protect all of us – both the sick and the healthy,” Weatherup said.

Weatherup said the daily briefings at the Emergency Operations Center in Fulton are to:

• Identify issues and unmet needs
• Work together to make sure that agencies are getting the resources they need
• Manage shelter for quarantined first responders, equip personal protective gear for EMS teams, and provide food for vulnerable populations.

Weatherup also mentioned passing of a resolution on Tuesday, March 31, creating an account from the county’s fund balance to pay for COVID-19-related expenses that have incurred, and to cover upcoming expenses. The fund is inclusive of $500,000.

The move will allow the county to track expenses, opening the door for possible reimbursement through Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies.

Weatherup said the largest challenges were finding sources of Personal Protective Equipment and other supplies for first responders and health care workers, as well as identifying locations to isolate people who are unable to do at-home quarantine.

Liepke addressed concerns and questions that the Health Department has been receiving, including issues in differentiating quarantine and isolation. “

“Quarantine is for people who may have been exposed but are well. They may have traveled or had some level of contact with somebody who was positive,” Liepke said. “Isolation is for people who are sick with COVID-19 or test positive but do not have any symptoms.”

 Oswego County Health Department will must approve tests for COVID-19, which are by appointment only and not for anyone who is asymptomatic.

Testing can be done at the Oswego Hospital drive-through center or Pulaski Urgent Care. Testing turnaround time is 2 to 10 days. 

Hall said the hospital is “consistently 24/7 training our staff to be prepared for the surge when it occurs, and we are ready.” 

At this time, both the hospital and county can meet testing needs and have the supplies needed.

During the conference, Weatherup condemned groups in the area who were unwilling to follow social distancing protocols, also covering social media fear mongering and outward citizen criticisms concerning patient privacy and contamination fears. 

“I can tell you this, from a health and safety perspective and as a matter of privacy it is both ill-advised and inappropriate for us to release more information than we already have,” Weatherup said.

Weatherup recommends the best possible way to protect yourself is to follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and county, and stay at home unless necessary. 

“Thinking that you are ‘safe’ because it’s not in your town is not accurate,” Weatherup said. “Nor is the fact that if it is in another town, you can’t go there because of the danger. We all need to be aware of the preventive measures and practice them to the best of our abilities.”

To see today’s latest updates regarding COVID-19 in Oswego County, click here.

For more information and daily COVID-19 updates, please contact the Oswego County Health Department at: 315-349-3330.

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