Monroe County is reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases.
The numbers released Friday afternoon from the Monroe County Department of Health show an 54 new positive cases of coronavirus, about double the number of new cases that has been reported daily.
Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza says the latest numbers do not yet reflect all of the cases reported by Nazareth College,which said on Friday it had 19 positive cases over the last couple of days.
Mendoza says his contact tracing team is trying to determine where the 54 people in the latest report were exposed to the virus. He says so far they know that about 70% of them were in close contacts with individuals recently identified as being positive for COVID-19. Mendoza says nearly all of the remaining 30% said they traveled outside of the area or attended a social event.
Mendoza says it’s premature to say whether this latest report indicates increased community spread. Mendoza says the contact tracing related to the latest cases is reassuring, but the health department is monitoring the situation very closely.
He urges local residents to continue to maintain physical distance, wear a mask, wash your hands and stay home if you are sick.
