Leaders warn of shut down as COVID cases rise in Erie County

ERIE COUNTY, (WIVB)–New numbers from the governor’s office show Western New York continues struggling with COVID-19.

State leaders say the region had a 4.8 positivity rate yesterday. Here in Erie County, there were 259 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday.

There are more than 70 active coronavirus cases in Hamburg, the most out of any other area in Erie County. Between October 31 and November 6, Erie County has seen more than one-thousand new COVID- 19 cases. As of right now, there are 111 covid patients hospitalized in Western New York, 68 of which are in Erie County.

County Executive Mark Poloncarz says he does not want to see another shutdown but says that’s the direction we’re headed in. Poloncarz says there’s not one group or community causing the increase, but rather it’s happening across the county. He says the issue isn’t because of people being back in school, going to restaurants or other businesses, it’s that people are starting to gather in large numbers again.

“Adults who attended adult Halloween parties at private residences now people who went to those Halloween parties are getting sick. This is what we talked about, you have to be careful. We know people like to have a good time, but unfortunately they’re putting us in a situation numbers continue to rise we’re going to be left with no choice but to shut things down again.”

Poloncarz says county officials are working with the governor’s office to come up with a plan to limit more spread, especially as we approach the holiday season. Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to make an announcement Monday regarding the increase in covid cases here in Western New York.

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