From staff reports
Times Telegram
The number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to rise with 76 new cases and two additional deaths reported as of noon Wednesday, according to Herkimer County Public Health.
That brings the total number of positive cases to 3,605 since mid-March. Forty people have died in Herkimer County since the pandemic began.
There were a total of 1,212 active COVID-19 patients; 54 people were hospitalized.
The number of people who have recovered from the illness now stands at 2,353. A total of 80,527 have tested negative for the virus.
A total of 1,492 people were in mandatory quarantine with public health orders; 720 were in precautionary quarantine; no one was released.
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While Herkimer firefighters don’t provide an ambulance service, they do serve as first responders for medical calls in the village. “We’ve been very active in it,” said Fire Chief John Spanfelner, when asked in a telephone interview about the impact of the uptick in coronavirus cases. “Now with the numbers going up, our calls are increasing more and more every day.”
He estimated that three out of four calls to which the village department responds are COVID-related.
COVID-19 calls for the Little Falls Fire Department ambulance have been sporadic, according to Fire Chief Rob Parese. “We have our share. We just make sure we take precautions.” The department provides fire and ambulance service to the city as well as town of Little Falls and part of the town of Manheim.