The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida County reports 67 new cases
UTICA, N.Y. » Growing concerns have surmounted over an outbreak at Green Empire Farms in Madison County. Though this employer is located outside Oneida County, many workers affected by this outbreak reside in Oneida County and have contributed to a significant spike in COVID-19 cases for the area.
On Monday, Oneida County announced 67 new reported cases, the highest daily increase to date.
Madison County shared a press release addressing the concern over this greenhouse outbreak and will be holding a press briefing Tuesday to further inform the public.
After seeing a significant increase in employees infected with COVID-19 from Empire Farms, Madison County reportedly stepped in and targeted testing on individuals from this facility and to those who have been in close contact with potentially exposed employees.
“On the first day of testing, we were able to test 186 people. The majority of [Madison County’s] new positive cases are a direct result of conducing this targeted testing. Now that we know who is positive, we can isolate and quarantine individuals sooner, which helps prevent further spread of the virus,” Madison County wrote in a press release.
52 greenhouse employees that tested positive reside in Oneida County. Other positive cases discovered at Empire Farms reside
in either Madison or surrounding counties. This largely accounts for the county’s reported spike on Monday.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. and other officials are confident that these cases are strongly facility-related, and do not reflect a general spike in COVID-19 cases in the overall county population.
Picente commented that these workers are seasonal employees and are not fulltime Oneida County residents.
Outside of this jarring increase, the county reported 15 additional positives that are considered “regular”—that is, not considered linked to this facility and are part of the everyday normal county reportings.
Overall, the county now has seen 530 positive cases. 196 have reportedly recovered. A new COVID-19 related death was reported on May 2, with the total now standing at 18 fatalities. 3,738 tests have been conducted in total since the pandemic began.
Madison County stated further that their Health Department and Office of Emergency Management are working with Green Empire Farms, MAC Contracting (who employ some of the employees there), and other local businesses to make sure that all of those
impacted by this virus are provided for and receive appropriate education and care.
A significant aspect of this outbreak may be communal housing that is associated with being a worker at this facility. As Picente addressed, the workers are seasonal, live in the county temporarily, and may often by transported together by the company to the work site from their residence.
There is potentially a lot of close-contact happening as part of how this business is conducted, and this could be a key component in understanding exactly how and why an outbreak of this scale has occurred.
“Its conditions are prime for growth, and in this case, growth of this disease,” Picente commented.
He addressed concern over the procedures in place to prevent this kind of outbreak, questioning the use of PPE, social distancing, and other preventative measures at the greenhouse. Madison County Public Health Director Eric Faisst stated at a press briefing May 1 that he was confident the greenhouse had proper procedures in place to limit the virus’s ability to spread.
However, he added, “Unfortunately, employers can only control what their employees do when at the workplace.” This may suggest that an outside factor was at play, whether it be individual behavior or perhaps the nature of communal living and transportation associated with
the greenhouse. More answers will hopefully be given at Madison County’s press briefing Tuesday.
For now, Picente stated that he and the county are not aware of an uptick in hospitalizations as a result of this outbreak, which could be a good thing for the individuals, the hospitals, and for the future of Oneida County reopening. Currently, the county has 22 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with two of them admitted outside of the county.
The governor has outlined 12 key criteria that regions of the state must follow to allow reopening, which are as follows:
1. CDC Guidelines: Based on CDC recommendations, once a region experiences a 14-day decline in the hospitalization rate they may begin a phased re-opening.
2. Priority Industries for Re-opening: Businesses in each region will re-open in phases. Phase one will include restarting construction and manufacturing functions with low risk. Phase two will open certain industries based on priority and risk level. Businesses considered “more essential” with inherent low risks of infection in the workplace and to customers will be prioritized, followed by other businesses considered “less essential” or those that present a higher risk of infection spread. Regions must not open attractions or businesses that would draw a large number of visitors from outside the local area.
3. Business Precautions: Each business and industry must have a plan to protect employees and consumers, make the physical workspace safer and implement processes that lower risk of infection in the business.
4. Building Health Care Capacity: To maintain the phased re-opening plan, each region must have at least 30 percent of hospital beds and ICU beds available after elective surgeries resume.
5. Testing Regimen: Regions must implement a testing regimen that prioritizes symptomatic persons and individuals who came into contact with a symptomatic person, and conducts frequent tests of frontline and essential workers. Regions must maintain an appropriate number of testing sites to accommodate its population and must fully advertise where and how people can get tested. The region must also use the collected data to track and trace the spread of the virus.
6. Tracing System: There must be at least 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people. The region must also monitor the regional infection rate throughout the re-opening plan.
7. Isolation Facilities: Regions must present plans to have rooms available for people who test positive for COVID-19 and who cannot self-isolate.
8. Regional Coordination: Regions must coordinate the re-opening of schools, transportation systems, testing and tracing
with other surrounding regions.
9. Re-imagining Telemedicine
10. Re-imagining Teleeducation
11. Regional Control Rooms: Each region must monitor businesses and regional indicators during the phased re-opening, including hospital capacity, rate of infection, PPE burn rate.
12. Protect and Respect Essential Workers: Regions must continue to ensure protections are in place for essential workers.
Oneida County has additionally reported the following new potential public exposures:
• On April 29, an Oneida County resident who has tested positive for COVID-19 was at the Fastrac located at 384 N. Genesee Street in Utica between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Risk to the public is low as the person was wearing a mask. Anyone who was in the store during that time period should monitor themselves for symptoms until May 13 and contact their health care provider if symptoms develop. You do not have to automatically self-quarantine.
• On May 1, an Oneida County resident who has tested positive for COVID-19 was at the BJ’S located at 400 River Road in Utica between 4 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. Risk to the public is low as the person was wearing a mask. Anyone who was in the store during that time period should monitor themselves
for symptoms until May 15 and contact their health care provider if symptoms develop. You do not have to automatically self-quarantine.
• An employee at the Walmart located 710 Horatio Street in Utica who has tested positive for COVID-19 worked the 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift from April 27 to May 3. Risk to the public is low as the person was wearing a mask. Anyone who was in the store during that time period should monitor themselves for symptoms until May 11 to May 17 depending on when they were in the store and contact their health care provider if symptoms develop. You do not have to automatically self-quarantine.
Details have also been released about a milk giveaway scheduled in Oneida County on May 6 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Boscov’s parking lot at Sangertown Mall in New Hartford.
Nearly 4,000 gallons of milk will be given out courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of America, American Dairy Association North East, and Dean Foods. Residents will receive two free gallons of milk and a package of cloth masks. This will be a drive-thru distribution process, where volunteers will bring the items to recipients’ vehicles. People should remain in their vehicles, and wear a mask when possible. The county asks that resident not show up to the site prior to 2 p.m.
For more COVID-19 resources and information, visit Oneida County online.