North Country VOST

News Release Date: April 23, 2020 For Immediate Release ... 4-23-20 COVID-19 Case Update Resident Feedback about Re-opening Mixed Plattsburgh, April 23, 2020. Discussion about when and how Clinton County might begin to re-open in the coming weeks has been met with mixed responses on the Clinton County Health Department’s Facebook page and in calls received by the Department. The County’s Office of Emergency Services has seen similar conflicting reactions on its Facebook page. Numerous residents shared their feelings that allowing businesses to open and activities to resume too quickly, could place people at risk. John Kanoza, Clinton County Director of Public Health, shared this message, We hear your concerns and will do everything possible to ensure the health of Clinton County residents. Mr. Kanoza pointed to steps that have been taken so far that will continue. Clinton County has employed aggressive contact tracing since the first case of COVID-19 appeared in the County. Contact tracing has been conducted for every positive case, as well as for suspect cases. Isolation and quarantine of individuals based upon contact has been used to keep the virus from spreading. Contact tracing is a tool we will continue to rely on to protect our community, stated Mr. Kanoza. Concerns about the number of people tested have been expressed regularly by the public. County officials, the Health Department, CVPH and other health care providers have stated that they share this concern and they have continued to advocate for more tests in the North Country region. Testing has been based on the availability of testing supplies, Mr. Kanoza noted. We will continue to vigorously pursue additional testing capacity. The Health Department also heard from many residents earlier in the week about antibody testing that took place on Sunday and Monday. The testing was part of a New York State Department of Health initiative to determine a baseline infection rate for COVID-19. While CCHD was not involved in this testing, they anticipate receiving information from the State Department of Health about the results. Preliminary data was revealed today in Governor Cuomo’s daily briefing. When CCHD receives local Clinton County data, it will be shared with the community. While the purpose of the antibody test survey was to collect statistical data, CCHD is aware that residents who were tested have begun to receive individual results. CCHD cautions however, that it is unknown at this time how long immunity to the virus will last and whether reinfection is possible. Every day we learn a bit more about COVID-19, stated Mr. Kanoza. Each new piece of information helps us map a direction and will be used further protect ourselves and each other.

*Update: Our 4-24-20 media conference is now available at https://youtu.be/fa9DcXIs08Y* Media Alert April 23, 2020... For Immediate Release Facebook Live COVID-19 Media Conference A Facebook live media event will take place at 10:30 AM on Friday, April 24, 2020. Updates will be provided on the status of the COVID-19 virus’s impact on Clinton County. Speakers will include: Dr. Mark Davey, District Superintendent/Chief Executive Officer, Champlain Valley Educational Services (CVES BOCES) Wouter Rietsema, MD, CVPH Vice President of Population Health and Information Services, Infectious Disease Physician Erin Streiff, Director of Health Care Services, Clinton County Health Department Keeping in mind the health and safety of all community members, this will be a closed event. Questions can be submitted through Facebook during the livestream. Or, if you would like to send questions ahead of time, please submit them by 10:00 AM, Friday, April 24th to [email protected]. Please note that responses to questions submitted ahead of time may be added into individual speaker remarks, or responded to separately in the Q&A section of the conference, along with questions from the public. A recording will be made available on YouTube after the event.

News Release Date: April 11, 2020 For Immediate Release ... 4-11-20 COVID-19 Case Update Clinton County’s Unified Response to COVID-19 Plattsburgh, April 11, 2020. Today we mourn the death of a second Clinton County resident due to complications of the COVID-19 virus, stated John Kanoza, Director of Public Health for Clinton County. This is an extremely difficult time for the family and friends of both individuals and a very sad time for our entire community. We have known from the start that COVID-19 can be deadly. It’s only human to hold on to hope that such a terrible consequence might pass us by, but today we know otherwise. On Friday, CVPH Medical Center reported the first COVID-19 death in Clinton County as that of an 80-year-old woman, who entered the hospital on April 2nd. On Saturday, a second COVID-19 patient passed away. As the first news of a possible worldwide pandemic began to appear, Clinton County leadership and departments, our hospital and health care providers, school systems, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and other entities pulled out previously developed emergency plans, checked that they were up-to-date, and readied themselves for implementation. Now several months in, these organizations are continually working together under a Unified Command System to respond to new cases of the virus and to meet the needs of residents who are in isolation or quarantine, along with the needs of individuals who are staying at home to help slow the spread. On Thursday night, the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD), with the support of the Unified Command leadership for Clinton County’s response to COVID-19, employed an up-until-now unused strategy to control the spread of COVID-19 in an apartment building in the City of Plattsburgh. A building-wide legal quarantine was issued at the Russell Barnard Apartments on Flynn Avenue after the number of confirmed cases among residents rose to four along with an additional suspect case. With the detection of this possible hot spot, CCHD notified the incident commanders of the County’s Incident Management Team and sought approval for plan of action. Critical partners, including City of Plattsburgh government, City police, City fire, County Sheriff, and EMS responders along with the building operator, Plattsburgh Housing Authority, were included in a coordinated effort to notify residents and assess immediate needs. Follow-up among partners and with building residents has been on-going. Eric Day, Director of Clinton County’s Office of Emergency Services noted, Our goal in an incident such as this is to be nimble and responsive. Clinton County Legislative Chairperson, Mark Henry commented, Thursday’s actions illustrate the importance of the County’s emergency decision and planning process. Clinton County agencies are overseeing and coordinating the response to the quarantine order at the Russell Barnard building. The Clinton County Department of Social Services (DSS), and Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) are working with building operator Plattsburgh Housing Authority and partner organizations JCEO and United Way to ensure that affected residents will receive the critical support they need during this difficult time for them and their families." In regard to the two members of our community lost to COVID-19, Mr. Kanoza stated, Even with our best efforts, we have learned that COVID-19 has its own plan. However, one strategy that has proven to be particularly effective in slowing the spread of this virus is staying at home and distancing ourselves from each other. Over the last week Clinton County statistics indicate what might be a flattening of the curve, a phrase used to describe the slowing of new cases of the virus. According to Mr. Kanoza, This shows that social distancing works. We implore all residents to remain steadfast and to continue these efforts for a bit longer. CCHD issued these numbers regarding the number of COVID-19 cases in Clinton County for Saturday April 11, 2020. There have been 363 tests performed resulting in 43 lab confirmed cases, 28 of whom have recovered. There have been 2 deaths.

Join us for a virtual week of volunteering April 20th-April 25th! More details are forthcoming.