Today marks the first time since mid-March the County had no new cases in a 24-hour period
512 residents tested in last 24 hours, with zero positive for COVID-19
KINGSTON, N.Y. – Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced today that Ulster County had zero new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24-hour period. This marks the first time this has occurred in Ulster County since the outbreak began in mid-March. 512 people were tested yesterday, with none of them testing positive for COVID-19. Since the pandemic began, 25,910 total Ulster County residents have been tested with 1,781 confirmed cases, 1,354 recovered and 344 currently active cases.
“This is a major milestone for Ulster County,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said. “I want to be very clear: while this is encouraging news, it does not mean we can ignore the important safety precautions we must all follow to combat COVID-19. This good news is the direct result of our residents being careful — socially distancing, wearing masks, and washing their hands. It is absolutely critical that we all continue to do these things in order to avoid a second wave.”
Since Ulster County’s first case of COVID-19 emerged in early March, Ulster County has taken a proactive response to control and counter the pandemic. On March 13, Ulster County was the first County to close schools ahead of the statewide decision to do so. Additionally, Ulster County is believed to be the first County to set up a fully staffed COVID-19 hotline when the first case appeared. To prepare for increased demand, the County also opened a “step-down” care center with 100 beds at the Kingston High School Kate Walton Field House staffed by Nuvance Health.
Ulster County also worked proactively to get testing running up and early. Ulster was the first County to, on its own, set up a mobile drive-through testing site at Tech City. The County now has two other mobile drive-through testing sites in the County including the Midtown Kingston site that offers both walk-in’s and drive-through to expand accessibility
Additionally, Ulster County laid out an aggressive plan to protect seniors who are vulnerable to COVID-19. On April 21, County Executive Ryan directed the Health Department to put extra emphasis on protecting senior living facilities and established a rapid response team. The rapid response team supported these facilities with testing, PPE, and setting up health protocols. Testing has now been completed in 13 of 13 facilities, with 1,233 residents tested.
There are currently 1781 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 83 fatalities in Ulster County.
For additional information about COVID-19 visit: https://ulstercountyny.gov/coronavirus
Ulster County COVID-19 Hotline: 845-443-8888
NYS Coronavirus Information Hotline: 888-364-3065
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