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A sad milestone for the county

On Jan. 14, the Chautauqua County Health Department announced the 47th death from COVID-19 in the county. In the entire Vietnam War, there were 46 from our county who died. COVID-19 has now claimed more lives here in less than a year than did the Vietnam War. There are, of course, differences. In Vietnam soldiers were killed by bullets and shrapnel from rockets and mortars. COVID deaths are caused by a lethal virus. The average age of Chautauqua County veterans killed during the Vietnam War was 21. The great bulk of deaths today from COVID are people over the age of 65. The elderly are ...

More than 5% touched by COVID-19 in region

In terms of population, Chautauqua is the 23rd largest county in New York state. When it comes to COVID-19 numbers, it ranks a bit higher. With a total of 6,961 positive cases since the start of the pandemic through Thursday, Chautauqua County is 20th of 62 counties for total number of infections with 5.4% of the 128,000 residents touched by the virus. Erie County, the eighth most populous, is fifth in the state in total number of cases with 6.4% of its 919,350 residents being infected. While those figures appear daunting, state Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday again reported improving ...

County records 121 new COVID cases, 3 deaths

The Chautauqua County Department of Health reported 121 new COVID cases along with three new virus-related deaths from information collected over the weekend. To date, there have been 7,081 confirmed cases as well as 125 fatalities related to the coronavirus. Of the new cases, 26 have come from the Dunkirk zip code, 12 in Fredonia, 27 in Jamestown, five in Brocton, seven in Forestville, five in Kennedy, six in Lakewood and eight in Westfield. In Cattaraugus County, the 80th virus-related death was recorded — an 87-year-old man who developed respiratory failure. "We extend our ...

Three days of agony

On the holiday weekend of Jan. 16 to 18, the horror and cruelty of the pandemic was front and center for those connected to the Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk. On the outside, area families with loved ones as patients at the location were dealing with a sense of ...

Dunkirk native headed to Super Bowl

When Dunkirk native Scott Thrasher’s boss at Hanover Health Care Center in New Hampshire asked him about his Super Bowl plans, Thrasher joked that he wasn’t going to watch the Bills play. When asked if he wanted to go, he laughed. His boss wasn’t joking. Thrasher, 42, will be at ...

70% of COVID deaths reported in last month

Slightly more than 70% of those who have died due to COVID-19-related complications within Chautauqua County during the nearly yearlong pandemic have occurred in the last 30 days. What’s more, at least 50 of the 122 confirmed virus fatalities involve former residents of area nursing homes. The county Health Department on Friday recorded five new deaths. To date, there have been four people between the ages of 40 and 49 who have died after being confirmed to have the virus; three between the ages of 50 and 59; 10 between 60 and 69; 27 between 70 and 79; 46 between 80 and 89; and 32 ...