TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y.—A day after the Tompkins County Health Department notified area residents that there has been an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests over the last week, the county has now seen its largest number of single-day positive tests since March 28.
Twenty more people tested positive on July 28, bringing the total number of active cases in the county to 47. The number of active cases is the highest since late May. Before this week, active cases had been consistently in the single digits for several weeks. The last time it was updated, the health department’s data showed just one hospitalization as of July 28.
In its announcement of the uptick Wednesday, the health department said information on the Delta variant’s local prevalence would be available in the near future, as the tests are sequenced at Cornell University to find out if they are Delta or another strain. It is assumed, though, that the Delta variant will become the most common strain in the county soon, as it has become across the country during the recent wave of new cases.
The county’s vaccination rate sits at 68.8 percent of the total population, which is still one of the highest vaccination rates in the state though it has been relatively stagnant for months.