ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROVIDES COVID-19 DATA UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING JUNE 19, 2021

ERIE COUNTY, NY – The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) is providing an update on COVID-19 data for the week ending June 19, 2021.

With 23 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported in Erie County for June 20, 2021, hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Erie County have declined to levels that were last reported in August 2020. Going forward, information on Erie County COVID-19 hospitalizations will be posted weekly, on Tuesdays.

For the week ending June 19, 2021, ECDOH received reports for 45 new COVID-19 cases among Erie County residents. This is a 59% decrease from the previous week, and the lowest recorded weekly COVID-19 case total since the start of the pandemic. The COVID-19 case rate fell from 12 cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days for the week ending June 12, to five cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days for last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set a case rate threshold of less than 10 for a community to be considered in a “low transmission” level.

Although 28% of county residents live in the city of Buffalo, 58% of new COVID-19 cases last week were city of Buffalo residents. Only one ZIP code had more than five reported COVID-19 cases last week: seven cases in 14215.  

Total weekly COVID-19 cases and weekly positivity percentages have declined for 10 consecutive weeks. All age categories have a seven-day COVID-19 case rate of under 15 cases per 100,000 persons. The only age group with a COVID-19 case rate of more than 10 per 100,000 persons over seven days was the 20-29 age group with a case rate of 13. There were six COVID-19 cases reported in Erie County this past week for residents age 60 and older.

Diagnostic COVID-19 testing has declined significantly since mid-to-late April, with just over 20,000 tests last week. Comparatively, about 58,500 tests were reported for the week ending April 17, 2021. ECDOH and health care providers within Erie County still have substantial diagnostic testing capacity. People who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, should strongly consider a diagnostic COVID-19 test. Free tests are available through ECDOH by calling 716-858-2929 to schedule an appointment. 

ECDOH is reporting COVID-19 mortality data. ECDOH received reports of five deaths associated with COVID-19 in the past seven days. The total COVID-19-related deaths from March 2020 to June 17, 2021 now stand at 1,916, with 640 reported in 2021. Of the 178 reported COVID-19 associated deaths in April, May and June 2021, 47% resided in a Buffalo city ZIP code, and 97% (172) of these deaths were in persons who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to infection.

Additional data, including vaccination estimates by ZIP code, are posted to the ECDOH web site. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) updates vaccination data by demographics, by county and by ZIP code. From NYSDOH data, as of June 22, 2021, 35.8% of 12-15-year-olds and 46.6% of 16-17-year-olds in Erie County have at least one vaccine dose.

ECDOH has an active schedule of COVID-19 vaccine clinics, listed at www.erie.gov/vax, and will also vaccinate any eligible Erie County resident at their home. Call (716) 858-2929 for the “Vax Visit” program.

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• ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine info & clinic schedule: http://www.erie.gov/vax
• ECDOH, COVID-19 Information Line: (716) 858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available

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