Too Many Coronavirus Contacts To Notify: Putnam Health Officials

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — With record-breaking numbers of positive coronavirus cases during the holiday surge, New York State and Putnam County health officials have had to stop reaching out to anyone who has been reported as testing positive or exposed to someone who tested positive.

County officials said following several days of low case numbers due to the holiday, there were unprecedented daily case counts Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, 2,001 active cases were reported to the state on Thursday, an increase of 160 percent compared to Dec. 22.

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Putnam Hospital have been trending up since the first week in December. The highest number of COVID patients at Putnam Hospital in the most
recent surge was 20 on Thursday.

Two people have died of the disease since Dec. 22.

County health officials are asking county residents who test positive to self-isolate and to notify their contacts. Those who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive are also being asked to self-quarantine:

• Unvaccinated close contacts and household members of an individual with a positive test result must quarantine for 10 days past the last date of exposure, health officials said.
• Fully vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals in close contact with a person with COVID-19 do not need to quarantine but should seek testing 5 to 7 days after exposure and wear a mask indoors when around others for 14 days or until a negative test result is received.

Employers and schools may require county isolation or quarantine orders, accompanied by a self-attestation. A form to determine contacts, along with isolation and quarantine instructions, are also available on the county website.

In Carmel, where the most cases in the county are concentrated, according to the coronavirus dashboard, schools are still scheduled to open Jan. 3.

In a letter on Sunday, Superintendent Anthony Di Carlo asked parents to continue to monitor children closely for COVID-19 symptoms. "As I shared with you prior to the break, we will continue to monitor staffing levels throughout the weekend to ensure we can open schools safely. Please make sure over the next several weeks to have a “Plan B” should a building or the district need to be closed as a result of a staffing shortage. We know children need to be in school and we will be doing everything in our power to stay open while we are going through this surge."

In the letter he also said:

"Please keep your child home and contact the school for further instructions if:

• Your child is ill, regardless of vaccination status;
• Your child has tested positive for COVID in the last 10 days, NYS requires a 10-day isolation period for students testing positive for COVID regardless of vaccination status. As of the writing of this letter New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”) has not adopted the most recent CDC guidance that reduces the duration of a quarantine.
• Anyone in the household is not feeling well with COVID-like symptoms (see above), regardless of the extent of the illness; or
• Your child has been exposed to someone who is COVID positive.

If your child meets any of the above circumstances, notify the school so that we may arrange for remote learning during the illness or quarantine period.

With the emergence of the omicron variant, state officials said fully vaccinated New Yorkers had about an 89 percent lower chance of being hospitalized with the disease, compared to unvaccinated New Yorkers.