OBSERVER Photo by Natasha Matteliano Fieldbrook Foods in Dunkirk, according to state Gov. Andrew Cuomo has had 53 positive cases of COVID-19.

As Western New York deals with an increase in COVID-19 cases, a staggering 37 new ones — including 24 at a Dunkirk ice cream plant — were reported within Chautauqua County on Thursday, marking the largest single-day spike during the pandemic.

The new cases, according to county Health Department officials, include three people under the age of 18, a young adult male, five men in their 20s, four men and three women in their 30s, eight men and three women in their 40s, three men and two women in their 50s, a man and woman in their 60s, and man and woman in their 70s and a woman in her 80s.

According to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard, the number of confirmed cases in the north county jumped from 126 cases on Wednesday to 158 on Thursday.

There are currently 76 active cases, up from the 39 reported Wednesday. Of the active cases, 56 are located in the north county.

News of the spike came just hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted on Thursday that a Chautauqua County food processing plant was connected to 53 cases of the coronavirus. The governor did not name the plant specifically, however, county officials held a press conference Monday to state that Fieldbrook Foods in Dunkirk was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak.

At the time, county officials said Fieldbrook — a local producer of private label ice cream and frozen desserts — had 30 positive cases to date.

Cuomo’s comments indicate that almost two dozen additional cases have since been tied to the plant, a number that was confirmed later by County Executive PJ Wendel. Wendel, who did not return a call Thursday to comment on the sudden jump in cases, noted in a news release, there will be a press conference today at 10 a.m. to provide an update on the COVID situation.

A mass testing event involving plant employees took place Tuesday at Fieldbrook. The county executive said the company “continues to cooperate with local and state authorities. While the case investigations related to this outbreak are ongoing, individuals who tested positive are placed under mandatory isolation orders and their identified close contacts are placed in mandatory quarantine by order of the public health director.”

Meanwhile, Cuomo said Western New York’s rate of positive COVID-19 tests has been above 1% for nine straight days. The region’s daily average number of new cases is now 70 cases per day, the highest since mid-June.

As a result, the governor said he will deploy a “testing SWAT team” to eight sites across the region in a partnership that includes Kaleida Health, Erie County Medical Center and Catholic Health.

Locally, testing will take place at the Dunkirk Fire Murphy Training Grounds at 665 Brigham Road. All eight sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Saturday through Wednesday.

All residents are eligible for tests and appointments can be made by calling 833-NYSTRNG (697-8764). New York state will deploy 50 rapid testing machines to support the effort and will deploy more as needed.

All tests are free of charge and the results will support the contact tracing efforts being conducted to monitor and control the virus spread.

“In Western New York, we have a caution flag out and we’re going to fly it a little higher today. The region’s infection rate was 2 percent (Wednesday), which is not good news,” Cuomo said. “We’re going to deploy a SWAT team from the Department of Health that is going to conduct additional testing at eight sites in the region using Abbott testing machines, which provide same-day results literally within the hour. We’re focusing on Western New York and we’re going to continue to focus on it. Thank you to our partners Kaleida Health, Erie County Medical Center and Catholic Health for their assistance with this effort.”

Other testing sites include: Deleavan-Grider Community Center, 877 E. Delavan Ave., Buffalo; True Bethel Baptist Church, 907 E. Ferry St., Buffalo; Northwest Buffalo Community Center, 155 Lawn Ave., Buffalo; SUNY ECC North, 6205 Main St., Williamsville; Vigilant Fire Hall, 666 Main St., West Seneca; John A. Duke Senior Center, 1201 Hyde Park Blvd., Niagara Falls; and YWCA of the Niagara Frontier, 32 Cottage St., Lockport.

According to the county Health Department, there were 236 county residents under quarantine or isolation as of Thursday. Another 501 people are under domestic traveler quarantine for having arrived to Chautauqua County from a state listed on the New York state travel advisory.

Three people are hospitalized as of Tuesday. In all, there were 267 recovered cases, nine deaths, 352 total confirmed cases and 31,990 negative test results.