Roscoe Firemen's Field

318 Gulf Road
Roscoe, NY 12776

ROSCOE, NY – Sullivan County Public Health Services is alerting anyone who attended a private family picnic at the Roscoe Firemen’s Field on Saturday, July 25, that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus).

“We just received the test results today, confirming the individual was contagious starting around July 24,” said Public Health Director Nancy McGraw. “They are currently under quarantine.”

The Roscoe Firemen’s Field is located at 318 Gulf Road (County Route 123) just south of Roscoe. Although the picnic was held in an outdoor area with a covered pavilion, making it a lower risk, many individuals may not have been wearing masks or maintaining social distancing of six feet or more from others.

“The risk is potentially higher if people were not wearing masks and following current guidelines and protocols for prevention of COVID-19 transmission,” said McGraw. “If you start to develop symptoms of COVID-19, we urge you to contact either your healthcare provider or Sullivan County Public Health Services at 292-5910 x 0 and ask for an Infection Control nurse.”

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Possible symptoms COVID-19 include one or more of the following:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Bluish lips or face

Call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.

Individuals who have questions regarding access for testing should call their health care provider or the New York State COVID-19 Hotline at 1-888-364-3065, or visit the NYSDOH website at https://covid19screening.health.ny.gov. Sullivan County’s coronavirus information page, including the latest statistics, can be found at www.sullivanny.us/departments/publichealth/coronavirus.

Don’t become complacent

“While the number of cases in Sullivan County has been in the single digits for several weeks, this is slowly increasing. We saw active cases increase from five on July 30 to 12 just a week later, on August 7, and there are still over 100 people on quarantine being monitored for symptoms. These are individuals with a known direct exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19,” said McGraw.

First and foremost, keep wearing a mask in situations where you may be around others. Health Affairs conducted a study comparing the COVID-19 growth rate before and after mask mandates in 15 states. The study showed that the first five days after a mandate went into effect, the daily growth rate slowed by .9 percentage points compared to the five days prior. At three weeks, the daily growth rate slowed down by a full two percentage points.

Another study investigated coronavirus deaths in 198 countries and found that those with cultural norms or government policies favoring mask-wearing had lower death rates.

Secondly, maintain social distance of at least six (6) feet. According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact for a prolonged period. Spread happens when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The droplets can also be inhaled into the lungs.

Recent studies indicate that people who are infected but do not have symptoms likely also play a role in the spread of COVID-19 – meaning you could be transmitting coronavirus without knowing it.

This becomes particularly important when you are returning to New York from another state. Due to outbreaks and increasing cases elsewhere in the country, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order 205 on June 25, 2020, requiring travelers to New York from certain other areas of the U.S. to self-quarantine for 14 days.

As of August 7, 2020, 34 states and Puerto Rico meet the criteria for required quarantine:

Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Mexico
Nevada
Ohio
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
(This is based upon a seven-day rolling average of positive tests in excess of 10%, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents.)

“Thinking we’re past this pandemic, or that we’re immune to it, or that we don’t need to wear a mask and social distance anymore, is foolish and can have serious consequences for the health of others who may be vulnerable or have underlying health conditions,” concluded McGraw. “If we ignore the sound scientific evidence, our active-case figure – and ultimately our death total – will be guaranteed to increase. And the cost of that to our health, our economy and our quality of life is just too high to risk.”