Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan holds a virtual town hall to update residents on the county’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan confirmed the first COVID-19 related death on March 30. The victim, a 76-year-old male from the Town of Plattekill, passed away at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie on Sunday. As of March 31, Ryan confirmed another COVID-19 related death of a 49-year-old from New Paltz and a 55-year-old from Plattekill.
“This serves as a sobering reminder of the severity of the situation and the need for all of us to take all precautions necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Ryan said. “I would like to thank all of our medical and emergency service professionals who have been on the frontline since day one and I would like to assure everyone that my office will continue to work around the clock to protect the health and safety of all of the residents of Ulster County.”
As of April 1, there are 215 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ulster County, with more than 76,000 cases across New York state.
Ulster County’s first death came on the same day Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended his series of executive orders aimed at reducing social density, keeping non-essential workers at home and closing bars, restaurants, salons, barber shops, malls and other businesses until April 15. Schools are also remaining closed until then and state officials will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that he is extending the national social distancing guidelines in place — staying home, avoiding nonessential travel, no dining out and avoiding gatherings with 10 or more people—through April 30. Trump predicted that a return to normalcy should not be expected until June.
“We can expect that by June 1, we will be well on our way to recovery,” Trump said.
Ryan highly encourages the 180,000 residents of Ulster County to stay home.
“Maintaining social distancing practices and simply staying home will save lives. My team will continue to work non-stop to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help those in need impacted by this epidemic,” Ryan said.
