COVID-19 Tallies – Some Context from Rye Guy George Latimer

MyRye.com asked Westchester County Exec and Rye Guy George Latimer about how the COVID-19 case numbers are tracked.

(PHOTO: County boss and Rye guy George Latimer gets his flu shot in February 2020.)

"The numbers are taken from a daily review of all the cases tracked by the state. Our people don’t see it until the State updates it," Latimer told MyRye.com Tuesday morning. "The County DoH is tasked with tracking the history of each case to see who they’ve come in contact with – which is getting more difficult every day as the overall contagion grows. The emergency folks – fire, EMS – have the home addresses so they can advise responders to be prepared if they have to go to that address. I (we) don’t know names- that would break HIPA laws."

Latimer expresses real concern on the management challenge ahead as infection rates balloon "Right now when 1 or 2 cases in Rye, it’s manageable. Lord knows how we’ll handle it if every community gets 50-60 cases."

It's an honest comment, real concern and should give everyone some real urgency in playing a part on flattening the curve.