WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Jefferson County is declaring a state of emergency to save a health care system that’s “on the brink.”
In what he says is a “call to action” Legislature chair Scott Gray said the declaration will include what he stops short of calling a mask mandate.
“We’re asking people — and we’re putting it in the emergency order — to mask up,” he said at a news conference late Wednesday morning.
People will be need to wear masks in public places and are being encouraged to avoid large gatherings, Gray said.
To illustrate the problem, Gray said that at the county’s peak of cases on January 15, there were 77 per 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average.
At the current trajectory, that peak could reach “to the north of 120 cases.”
“That, in and of itself, is enough to give anyone pause,” he said. “What that will do is inundate our public health system. Our public health system right now is on the brink.”
That’s why, he said, the county is taking action.
“That is enough to put the whole organization under water, the glass is full,” he said. “This is not a preemptive measure. This is a call to action right now to the entire community, because we have to stop, we have to slow down what is happening right now”
And, he said, at the current rate, the county could see another 30-plus COVID-related deaths over the next couple of months.
“And those are really deaths that are unnecessary,” he said.
Health care professionals have worked hard since the pandemic began, he said.
“These people have done tremendous work under tremendous pressure and it has not let up for them.”
Gray was flanked at the news conference by hospital CEOs from Carthage, Samaritan and River hospitals, along with a medical commander from Fort Drum.
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