Fasten your seat belts. You may be done with COVID-19 but it sure isn't done with you or any of us. In fact, the Otsego County Department of Health said in a release yesterday that they are seeing the biggest rise in COVID case numbers in the county since the very beginning of the pandemic and that's saying something!

The numbers have risen so fast across New York State (including locally) that the New York State Department of Health has advised counties to stop doing contact tracing since there's no way to keep up accurately with the active case numbers on a local level. That means Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego County are forgoing contact tracing and instead concentrating on helping people get vaccinated and tested for COVID as needed. Otsego DOH has also stopped reporting active case numbers since they feel that they can no longer accurately report.

Otsego County DOH says that contact tracing will continue with individuals in congregate settings like schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and daycare centers.

There's also a new strategy of attempting to keep track of cases that relies on residents that test positive for COVID to report it to the county health department via an online portal.

For Chenango County residents, report here.
For Delaware County residents report here.
For Otsego County residents, report here.

COVID Test Sites

Keep in mind that if you need a COVID-19 test, a New York State site is open at the American Legion in Milford from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and from 8:00 am to noon on Saturdays. Get the details on that here.

There is also a SUNY Oneonta state-run testing site for anyone experiencing COVID symptoms. Quadrant Biosciences has an easy, mouth-swab test that is self-administered that is free. It's open on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 AM to noon at the SUNY Oneonta Emergency Service Building, 26 S. West Dorm Drive. Schedule your appointment at quadrantbiosciences.com/covidtesting.

You can also search for testing sites by visiting the COVID-19 Test Site Finder from the New York State Department of Health. It helps you locate where to access Covid testing near you. Just put in your zip code at coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you.

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Pop-up Vaccination Sites Across New York State:

Pop-up vaccination site locations to increase access to vaccinations in rural communities change every week. To find out the latest location, visit covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/nys-vaxtoschool-pop-locations.

Below is a list of resources for vaccines for those 5 and older:

NYS Am I eligible site: am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov
Or call 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829)

For UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital you may call 607-337-4888

For BASSETT you may call the information line at 605-547-5555 or visit Bassett.org.

If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 CLICK HERE to learn what to do next.

To get information about COVID-19 vaccination distribution, CLICK HERE.

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