First Time: Broome, Chenango, Cortland Report No New COVID Cases

While New York has reached its goal of at least partial vaccination against COVID-19 for 70 percent of the adult population, the deadly novel coronavirus is still around and mutating and people are still getting sick and dying.

472 days into the outbreak of the pandemic in New York, the state is still reporting 320 new cases June 15 and 9 deaths. That, of course, is a far cry from the height of the pandemic when the daily new cases numbered in the thousands and new deaths in the hundreds.

June 15 updates from Broome, Chenango and Cortland Counties reported no new cases and no additional deaths for the first time since the outbreak began over a year ago.

Health experts have said the only way to fully contain COVID-19, which June 15 had claimed over 600,000 lives in the United States, the equivalent of the entire population of the city of Milwaukee, is through vaccination.  If the virus does not have a host where it can live, it cannot mutate and create new variants like the latest Delta variety that can still infect people who are vaccinated.

Get our free mobile app

Broome County is currently dealing with an incident where there were positive tests for the coronavirus at the Willow Point Nursing Home in staff and residents who were fully vaccinated.  None of those people have shown symptoms but inside visitations at the facility have been on hold pending two weeks of no positive tests.