Clinton Co. records highest COVID-19 rates to date

PLATTSBURGH | Over the New Year's weekend, Clinton County saw nearly 450 new cases of COVID-19- the largest recorded spike since the onset of the pandemic. The Jan. 3 update by the Clinton County Health Department noted 441 lab-confirmed cases over the prior three days. The numbers in the days before that were also growing exponentially, doubling and then tripling overnight. The current Clinton County caseload stood at 559 as of Monday when one new death was also reported. "This death brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Clinton County to 61," officials said without further detail. Health officials confirmed the Jan. 3 caseload was the highest recorded to date. The previous highest caseload was detected Dec. 30 with 435 cases and before that, on Jan. 8, 2021, with 415. As of Monday, there were 17 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at the University of Vermont Health Network-CVPH hospital. Five were in the Intensive Care Unit. The seven-day average positivity rate in Clinton County stood at 15.7 percent. The Hammond Lane testing site in Plattsburgh was so inundated midday Monday, traffic was backed up down the road as test hopefuls waited to get through. Clinton County received its first large-scale delivery of COVID-19 test kits for schools over the weekend as Champlain Valley Educational Services helped coordinate the distribution to local districts. Several schools, such as Plattsburgh City School District and Peru Central School District, held test kit pick-up drives Sunday and Monday with the scheduled return to campus following the December break for any families interested. Each district is coordinating test kit rollouts and distribution as some will now offer the tests on-site with parental consent for symptomatic students being sent home. The state's current mask-or-vax requirement was also extended over the weekend to last through February as municipalities across the state work to combat the winter surge and fastly spreading Omicron variant. Several vaccination clinics are being held in Clinton County, including an open clinic for all level of doses at the Plattsburgh YMCA's Y on the Oval location this Saturday, Jan. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Officials are continuing to urge vaccination for all eligible. CCHD continues to offer free COVID-19 vaccine clinics every Thursday. Visit www.clintonhealth.org/covid19vaccine to schedule a first, second, third, or booster. A full list of Clinton County COVID-19 testing providers can be found at www.clintonhealth.org/covid19.

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Clinton Co. records highest COVID-19 rates to date

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