Ulster reports spike in positive cases

KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County saw a spike in the number of positive coronavirus cases over the weekend, pushing the number of positive cases to 152 - the highest number of positive cases inside the county’s borders since Aug. 11.

According to the county dashboard, 30 additional cases were reported between Oct. 1, when the county reported 124 positive cases, and Monday, when it reported 152 cases.

The spike also caused the county’s daily positivity rate to increase to 1.5 percent.

Deputy County Executive Marc Rider said that 13 of the new cases were attributable to three identified clusters in the county.

He said five cases stemmed from three group home facilities run by nonprofit organizations under the auspices of the state office of People with Development Disabilities. In that instance, Rider said both staff and residents tested positive for the virus.

Three cases were reported from a multifamily housing com

plex in the village of Ellenville, Rider said, and five new cases were reported out of Marlborough, part of a growing cluster stemming from a party held in that community.

On Thursday, the Marlboro school district reported three separate inst ances where “st af f , students, or both” were exposed to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a letter addressed to district families and staff. According to the county dashboard, there were 12 positive cases reported out of Marlborough on Monday.

The additional 17 new cases reported on Monday were not a part of any identified cluster, Rider said and downplayed the spike in new cases.

“It’s not a great uptick if you take out those clusters,” Rider said. “We’ve had three- day periods where we’ve had 17 cases.

Rider said County Executive Pat Ryan will address the increase in a Facebook live event on Tuesday.

As of Monday, seven Ulster County municipalities had reported doubledigit numbers of cororanvirus cases, with the city of Kingston reporting 27, the most in any municipality in the county.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, Ulster County has reported 2,327 positive cases of the virus, including 95 who died from COVID-19.

In Dutchess County, there are 157 active cases, according to its dashboard on Monday. That county has reported 5,179 active cases since the pandemic began, including 158 deaths.