Otsego County Department of Health

The COVID-19 virus is still claiming lives in Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Counties, despite the decline in active cases. Here's your update.

After having a recent COVID exposure, I had no trouble getting a same-day appointment at the SUNY Oneonta testing site which is now allowing walk-ins with expanded hours of operation on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.

Bassett Healthcare Network has temporarily ended inpatient visits to all of its hospitals. This all stems from the fast-spreading Omicron variant and the desire to keep the staff and patients at all Bassett Healthcare Network hospitals safe while the virus transmission rate is still high.

Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego County are forgoing contact tracing and instead concentrating on helping people get vaccinated and tested for COVID as needed. Otsego DOH has also stopped reporting active case numbers since they feel that they can no longer accurately report.

Schools in New York State get to now decide to 'test to stay' related to a negative test for COVID-19. Find out what that means for schools in Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Counties.

New York State planned ahead and has set up state-run testing sites with more planned in the very near future. One such site that has been chosen is SUNY Oneonta. It opens to the public this Friday, January 7.

Do you feel like you're in the "Groundhog Day" movie, and just like the main character, waking up on any given day this week, experiencing this same time last year all over again when it comes to COVID-19?

As we head for a new year to begin, health officials on a national, state, and local level are all holding their breaths, wondering what impact holiday gatherings will have on COVID-19 case numbers and if hospitals will see a dangerous influx of new cases.

Public Health concerns are rising in Otsego County with COVID case numbers continuing to rise before Christmas and before holiday gatherings. As of yesterday (12/15) the health department reported that 1200 people in the county were in quarantine.

Some individuals who are anti-mask are taking out their anger and frustration on a group of people who are just trying to do their job as dictated by New York State and not to blame for the mask mandate - The Otsego County Department of Health.