Onondaga County confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on March 16. Since then, 563 people have contracted the virus, and 12 people have died.

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 2 million people and killed at least 136,000 worldwide. New York state has reported 214,698 positive cases and 14,064 deaths as of Wednesday.

The number of recoveries from COVID-19 in the county now stands at 273. There are currently 278 active cases of the virus, a number that accounts for people who have contracted COVID-19 but have not recovered or died.

Here is how the coronavirus developed in Onondaga County over the past month:

Total coronavirus cases

An Onondaga County woman and her husband tested positive for the coronavirus on March 16, the first confirmed cases in the county. The woman was hospitalized, and her husband was quarantined at home.

The woman, in her 70s, contracted COVID-19 through community spread, health officials said. The officials said they were working to determine whom the woman may have been in contact with before being treated.

The number of cases in the county spiked from 13 cases on March 20 to 34 cases on March 21. The rise in positive test results was expected due to an increased amount of testing, County Executive Ryan McMahon said. The county had received over 700 test results as of March 21.

At the time, 19 of the patients who tested positive were women, and 15 were men. Thirteen of the patients were under 40 years old, nine were between 40 and 60 years old and another nine were over 60 years old.

Two patients in the county were hospitalized as of March 21, officials announced.

An elderly individual died of COVID-19 on March 24, the first reported death in the county. The patient had been hospitalized.

There were 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of March 24, 59 of which were active. The county was also waiting to receive 800 test results from the triage site at the Syracuse Community Health Center.

County officials identified eight cases of the virus that were connected to each other, and encouraged the public to practice social distancing. The officials also reached out to congregants at Bethany Baptist Church in Syracuse who may have been exposed to COVID-19 through an attendee who had tested positive.

By March 26, the county had conducted 2,200 COVID-19 tests. Of the tests, 111 came back positive. Sixteen patients in the county were hospitalized.

The county saw its largest increase in active cases that month on March 29. McMahon confirmed 48 additional cases of the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 194. It was a single-day increase of about 33%.

The first recoveries from COVID-19 were also documented on March 29. Five people who contracted the virus had been released from mandatory isolation. The county should continue to see both the number of confirmed cases and recoveries increase in the coming weeks, McMahon said.

Active coronavirus cases

Active coronavirus cases decreased for the first time on March 30, from 188 to 186.

Despite the decrease in active cases, the county experienced an overall increase in confirmed cases that day. Officials reported 34 new cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 228. McMahon said he hoped the number of recoveries showed an ongoing, positive trend.

The number of active cases did not decrease again until April 10.

County officials confirmed two deaths from COVID-19 within hours of each other on April 2, bringing its death toll to three. The county reported 301 total cases of the virus.

Upstate University Hospital confirmed April 2 that nearly 20 of its students and staff had contracted COVID-19. By then, 27 health workers in Syracuse had tested positive for the virus, according to Syracuse.com. Crouse Hospital had reported four cases among its staff, while St. Joseph’s Health had reported seven.

Onondaga County implemented a voluntary shelter-in-place order on April 7 to improve social distancing compliance. The measure will remain in effect through April 21.

Between April 2 and April 7, five people died from COVID-19. McMahon said about 13% of the county’s confirmed cases arise from individuals coming in contact with people in their immediate household.

Data has shown that many of the county’s cases result from people going to work sick, hosting social gatherings and visiting elderly relatives, he said.

The highest number of active cases was recorded April 9. By April 13, four more people had died, raising the death toll to 11.

McMahon said April 13 that the number of active cases in the county had begun to plateau, while the number of recoveries has continued to rise. Between April 11 to April 13, the county saw 23 fewer active cases.

Published on April 16, 2020 at 1:10 am

Contact Richard: rjchang@syr.edu | @RichardJChang1