October 9, 2020
“I’d like to provide you with some important COVID-19 updates. We’ve been watching carefully as the surrounding counties are seeing an increase in COVID 19 cases. Cortland County has 117 current positives, and SUNY Cortland has paused in-person classes. Broome, Chemung, Steuben and Tioga counties all have positive rates above 3%. Hospitals in those counties are starting to see an uptick in hospital admissions. The good news is that Tompkins county remains at a very low positivity rate of 0.1%. Tompkins County is testing at much higher rate than any local county, primarily due to the Cornell testing volume. Newly diagnosed cases are remaining steady after a brief spike in late September.
It’s important that we remain vigilant around our primary prevention strategies: mask wearing, social distancing, screening and hand washing. PLEASE do not come to the community building if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms – fever, body aches, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, GI symptoms. A complete list of symptoms is available here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html .
We are not making any changes to our current COVID-related policies but wanted to give you an early alert. If we continue to see an increase in cases, particularly in Tompkins county, this may necessitate some additional prevention measures here at Kendal.
This week, New York State launched a smartphone app called COVID Alert NY that you can download onto your phone. This app will tell you if you have been in proximity to someone who tests positive for COVID 19. It is available through the Apple App store or Google Play.
We will share any important updates as necessary. Thank you, again, for your compliance with our safety procedures and your many sacrifices for the safety of the community.”
Laurie Mante