Two more Cattaraugus County residents have died from complications of COVID-19, health officials reported Thursday.
The deaths of two men, ages 66 and 54, respectively, brought to 66 the total number of county residents who have died from COVID-19 since April 23.
Another 30 county residents were notified they tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 3,211; 47 county residents are hospitalized.
Thursday’s positivity rate in testing for the virus was 8.6%. The seven-day rolling average was 8.4% and the 14-day average was 8.9%.
There are 507 active cases being followed by Cattaraugus County Health Department staff, plus 532 in contact quarantine and 53 in travel quarantine.
The southeast part of the county reported 14 new COVID-19 cases for 1,890, or 58.9% of the total. The northwest part of the county had three new cases for 333, the northeast had nine new cases for 479 and the southwest had four new cases for 479.
Sixteen of the new cases were males for a total of 1,473 and 14 were women for a total of 1,738.
The county has administered almost 78,000 COVID-19 tests, 74,715 of which have been negative. The health department said 2,638 residents have recovered from their bouts with COVID-19.
MEANWHILE, a web link to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations in New York was leaked and posted on social media this week, allowing many people to sign up for appointments at sites that weren’t open yet, state officials said.
The breach let people make appointments at six vaccination sites that the state Department of Health hasn’t even opened — Binghamton, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Stony Brook and Utica.
All appointments have been canceled and people who signed up are being contacted, Marcy Stevens, general counsel for the state Office of Information Technology Services, said in a news release.
“As this pandemic has shown, equity and equal access are critical in distributing the vaccine, and to ensure these principles are followed all unauthorized appointments have been voided,” the release stated. “We will continue to safeguard all New Yorkers’ information and ensure equal access to the vaccine for everyone eligible.”
The release does not say who leaked the sign-up link, where it appeared on social media, or how many people made appointments. It said that the matter has been referred to the state Inspector General’s office, which investigates the conduct of state employees and agencies.
About 7 million New Yorkers are now eligible for the shots, although the state is only getting about 300,000 doses a week. The health department today announced that appointments at all state-run sites are booked through mid-April. Five sites are open, and 15 more are planned.
