Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his daily coronavirus briefing in Buffalo on Tuesday.
During that briefing held at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, he said Erie County had reached its plateau for COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday afternoon, Erie County had 2,221 cases and 162 deaths.
Cuomo again said Erie County is behind the state’s hardest hit area of New York City where it is believed to be on a descent based on the rate of day to day hospitalizations.
Despite the flat, or downward trend statewide, the state still had 481 deaths reported on Monday, including seven in Erie County.
The governor also announced the state would be reopening on a regional basis, instead of applying the same guidelines to all of New York State.
“You have to watch each individual one of those curves, and when does that region hit a high point, because depending on that region’s curve, is how you have to calculate your strategy,” he said.
He appointed Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to head the western New York public health and phased reopening strategy.
Elective surgeries will once again be allowed in parts of the state. Places like Erie, Dutchess, and Albany County are excluded from elective surgeries based on the rate of infection in those areas. Click herefor more information.
