Delivering on County Executive Ryan’s Big Five priority to make county government more responsive and responsible, Ulster County has led the way in responding to COVID-19
Since March over 80,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been issued in Ulster County
The daily positive test rate has remained under 1.5% for 41 straight days
KINGSTON, N.Y. – Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced today that Ulster County has had over 2,000 residents recover from COVID-19. Since reporting the counties first positive case on March 8th, Ulster County has issued over 80,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests and currently, the daily positive test rate has remained under 1.5% for 41 straight days. Delivering on County Executive Pat Ryan’s Big Five priority to make county government more responsive and responsible, Ulster County has led the way in responding to COVID-19.
“I want to thank the tremendous work of front line workers who have kept our numbers down and helped those impacted recover,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said. “While this is encouraging news, it does not mean we can ignore the important safety precautions we must all follow to combat COVID-19. It is absolutely critical that we all continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, and wash our hands 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. County Executive Pat Ryan has held over fifty Town Halls and briefings to update the community on the evolving public health situation. 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.
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. Additionally, Ulster County laid out an aggressive plan to protect seniors who are vulnerable to COVID-19. 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.
There are currently 119 active cases of COVID-19 in Ulster County.