Coronavirus (Image provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

SARANAC LAKE — There were no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Essex or Franklin counties as of Thursday evening, but more people are in quarantine and awaiting results. Local hospitals are also further restricting who will be tested for the disease, and Lake Placid Hannaford shoppers were alerted to a possible risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Six more people were placed in mandatory quarantine in Essex County Thursday, bringing the total up to 28 people countywide, according to the Essex County Health Department. One more person is in precautionary quarantine, the least restrictive level of quarantine, and there is still only one person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in isolation quarantine, the most restrictive level.

In Franklin County, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19. There are roughly 30 people who have been tested for the disease, who are in quarantine after showing symptoms, or who have had a possible exposure to someone with a confirmed case, according to information provided to the county Emergency Operation Center by the Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone.

Anyone who shopped at the Hannaford Supermarket in Lake Placid on Wednesday, March 11 during the hours of 11:30 a.m. and noon, and 3 to 4 p.m., may have been exposed to COVID-19, according to the Essex County Health Department.

“If you believe you were present at this location, at this date/time, please monitor your temperature twice a day for 14 days,” the department said in a notice on social media. “If you develop symptoms — a fever greater than 100.4, cough, and/or shortness of breath, call your healthcare provider for future guidance. Tell them that you may have been exposed to COVID-19.”

—

Hospitals restrict testing

—

Adirondack Health on Thursday implemented a new policy restricting COVID-19 testing to inpatients at the hospital.

Anyone who suspects they have the disease are being encouraged to call the COVID-19 screening hotline at 518-897-2462, not show up at the hospital in person. Those with flu-like symptoms are being asked to treat themselves at home by getting more rest, staying hydrated and self-isolating — but those with difficulty breathing should seek medical help.

Patients with difficulty breathing will only be tested for COVID-19 “if their assessment leads to a hospital admission,” according to a news release from Adirondack Health.

“If you’re sick enough to be hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, we need to determine what’s going on,” Dr. Darci Beiras, Adirondack Health’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “If you’re not sick enough to be hospitalized, we need to save that test for someone who is, or eventually will be. We are doing our best to balance patient satisfaction with our responsibility to plan for the future.”

Adirondack Health spokesman Matt Scollin on Thursday stressed that the hospital does still have testing supplies. But administrators are keeping an eye on national supply shortages, which cast uncertainty over the hospital’s ability to replenish its supplies in a timely manner. The expectation of patients seeking care in greater numbers is also a factor.

“We have no idea how fast these patients are going to be coming down the pike,” Scollin said. “We certainly hope that more (tests) come. We have to make these decisions based on what we have, and conserve those tests to the best of our ability.”

“We’d love to have more tests, and to have more information to provide to the county Health Department, but in the absence of more testing supplies we have to preserve that ability at the hospital for the sickest patients,” he added.

The Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone has implemented a similar policy, according to a news release from the Franklin County Emergency Operation Center.

COVID-19 tests will be administered only to those awaiting admission to the hospital and residents of the Alice Center nursing home who have COVID-19 risk criteria outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health.

The Franklin County Emergency Operation Center recommended those who are ill to contact their primary care provider, and only visit Alice Hyde at the direction of that primary care provider or if they’re “severely ill.”

Franklin County’s COVID-19 call center can be reached at 518-481-1111 or eoccallcenter@franklincony.org.

—

AMC suspends visits

—

Adirondack Health on Wednesday evening suspended patient visitations indefinitely. The change was made after the state Department of Health recommended hospitals do so.

The hospital will make exceptions when visits to patients when the visitor is a family member or legal representative of the patient during “end of life situations,” or deemed “medically necessary” — when a visitor is “essential to the care of the patient,” according to a news release from Adirondack Health.

All visitors will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, and the length and frequency of visits will be restricted.

—

One confirmed case

—

Public health officials confirmed the Tri-Lakes region’s first confirmed case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, this past Tuesday.

The patient, a woman who lives in Essex County, did not have any risk factors before contracting the disease, according to Essex County Public Health Director Linda Beers.

She entered the Adirondack Medical Center Emergency Room in Saranac Lake this past Friday, March 13. A sample was collected in an isolation room at the hospital, and she was sent home and placed in quarantine there, according to Adirondack Health CEO Sylvia Getman.

The woman never left their home, according to Beers. She was transitioned into mandatory quarantine when she developed symptoms — which means she was relegated to her home and the department was required to check on her and take care of any needs she had. When she tested positive, she was placed in isolation quarantine in her home, according to Beers. Isolation quarantine is more strict: the county health department is mandated to check on her twice a day, contact her randomly and find people who may have come in contact with her.

At least 16 people in Essex County have been tested and received results as of Thursday, according to the health department — the number of people who have been tested and are still awaiting results is likely much higher.

There have been cases confirmed in nearby areas, including two in Clinton County as of Thursday evening.

New York continues to have the most COVID-19 cases of any state in the U.S.

Statewide, the number of confirmed cases rose to 4,152 cases by Thursday afternoon, according to the state Department of Health — about a third of the country’s total confirmed cases. The statewide total is up by roughly 1,770 cases from Wednesday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has cited the state’s effort to ramp up testing as one of the factors behind the rapid increase in confirmed cases.

The state is continuing to contract with more private labs to ramp up its testing capabilities. According to Cuomo, the state conducted 7,584 tests overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. At least 29 people have died from the disease in New York state as of Thursday evening, according to the New York Times.

Worldwide, the World Health Organization on Wednesday reported 191,127 confirmed cases, up by more than 15,000 from 167,515 cases on Monday. There have been 7,807 deaths as of Wednesday, up by 786 from 6,606 deaths on Monday.