Coronavirus Update, October 15, 2020
Three workers at the US Postal Service facility on Warren Road in Ithaca have tested positive for COVID-19, the Ithaca Voice reports.
Desai Abdul-Razzaaq, the US Postal service strategic communications coordinator for Western New York and Central Pennsylvania districts, confirmed the news Wednesday morning. The Tompkins County Health Department stated that it would not be issuing a press release in relation to the positive tests, as the postal employees would not have come in contact with the public.
Medical privacy laws prevented the US postal service from revealing what positions the employees hold at the facility. Abdul-Razzaaq adds that the postal service is following CDC guidelines to assure the health of their employees. He affirmed that domestic and international mail and packages are not vectors for the virus that causes COVID-19.
The latest numbers, released Thursday from the Tompkins County health department, indicate that there are 5 additional positive cases, and 7 new recoveries. Four people remain hospitalized. According to the County Health Department, that leaves 46 active cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins.
In Schuyler County, there are 5 new cases of COVID-19 reported as of Thursday, according to their Health Department. There are currently 18 active cases and 6 people are hospitalized with symptoms of the virus.
New Yorkers who are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, or ACA plans could stand to lose their health care coverage if the Supreme Court rules against the Federal act in a case coming before the court early next month.
If the Supreme Court struck down the ACA, 3.2 million New Yorkers could be affected due to the loss of billions of dollars in Federal Funding, the Ithaca Journal reports.
The Supreme Court currently has only 8 justices seated, but will be joined by a new justice, Amy Coney Barrett, if she is confirmed following hearings in the Senate set to conclude this week.
Analysis of Barrett’s record reveals that she could rule against the Affordable Care Act if she joins the Supreme Court. Some health care analysts expect, however, that the court would uphold most of the federal law’s provisions, even if Barrett were appointed as a new justice.
According to Jonah Bruno, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, the loss of the ACA would impact about 2.1 million New Yorkers covered through Medicaid expansion, and more than 1.1 million people who enrolled in ACA coverage through the state.
Contributing writing by WRFI News Volunteer Esther Racoosin