Class rooms, like this lab at SUNY Morrisville, will be sitting empty after Governor Cuomo moved to implement distancing tactics by moving college classes online. The New York State Department of Health advised public schools to shutdown for at least 24 hours after a student or staff are confirmed to be infected with the virus to allow the school building to be disinfected. (Photo by Zachary Meseck)

CHENANGO COUNTY – As of Thursday morning, The New York State Department of Health reported 216 positive cases of the Novel Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 in the state.

The Chenango County Department of Public Health released a message to the public stating the department has plans in place help limit the spread by conducting daily disease surveillance. They are also working with healthcare partners to identify and respond to disease threats. There have been no reported cases of the virus in Chenango County.

According to UHS Vice President of Communication, Christina Boyd, “We have procedures in place based on practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. If a patient presents to one of our practices who needs to be tested, we will swab the person and then the local health department is responsible for testing. Unless the patient is critically ill, they are asked to self-quarantine until results are available.”

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. In severe cases, patients develop pneumonia in both lungs.

The NYS DOH states that most cases are being spread from person to person by droplets when coughing.

The CDC website, cdc.gov/coronavirus, has a library of information including what the virus is, how to prevent it from spreading in the community, and what to do if someone is sick.