County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper today announced no new positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Erie County. The total number of cumulative cases of COVID-19 in Erie County to date is 93, with 2,290 negatives and 75 recovered.
Current data can be found on the chart on the “Positive Cases in Erie County” page at eriecountypa.gov. Contact tracing continues by Erie County Department of Health.
The environmental team at Erie County Department of Health received 39 new complaints and continues to make field visits to assist businesses with reopening in Erie County.
“We are treading uncharted territory,” Dahlkemper said. “We want to reopen Erie County as quickly and efficiently as possible – but our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of our community. The only way this works is if businesses comply with the guidance by enforcing it and if people adhere to it. As the state allows businesses to reopen, please keep in mind that everyone must still protect themselves and others from spreading COVID-19.”
Charlotte Berringer, director of community health services at Erie County Department of Health, detailed the differences between COVID-19 and the flu at today’s briefing, noting the rate of spread and the difference in symptoms, in addition to the number of cases and deaths for each.
“Since the first diagnosis of COVID-19 on Feb. 27, there have been almost 1.2 million cases reported in the United States,” Berringer said. “That’s nearly four times the amount of cases in 2 1/2 months as compared to 310,000 flu cases in nine months. The biggest difference between the flu and COVID-19 are deaths related to each illness. In the 2018-2019 flu season, the CDC estimated flu-related deaths at 34,200. According to John Hopkins University, 69,079 COVID-related deaths have already occurred in the United States since February. That is more than two times the number of flu-related deaths in just a few months.”
Fact sheets, business resources, family resources, videos, translations, and more information on COVID-19 continue to be added to eriecountypa.gov as it comes available.
All questions related to COVID-19 symptoms and enforcement should be directed to Erie County Department of Health at 814-451-6700 or ecdhinfo@eriecountypa.gov.
