COVID-19 cases by county, as of April 21. (Graphic by Lindy Ellis)

This is not the time for politics. This is not the time to push agendas. This is not the time to potentially weaken our communities’ resolve to hold down COVID-19 in our region. Yet that is what Rep. Elise Stefanik, in her new role on the Federal Task Force to Open the Economy, is doing. She is calling for the reopening of the economy, and of society, by region. And she wants our North Country to be her Guinea pigs.

She said on April 17 that the North Country has not seen the same high numbers of positive cases as in downstate and that she “believes” her district is “further along” in terms of reopening than downstate (footnote 1). And she said we should be “looking at the data.”

Well Elise, look at the data.

Our region is still on the upswing of cases and is likely weeks away from the apex of the outbreak. This graph is from Public Health Department regional data. The numbers of cases are very understated because we have such low testing capability in the North Country. We are testing fewer than five people per day in Franklin County (2). To safely “reopen,” daily testing should be a minimum of 152 tests per 100,000, or 76 tests per day in Franklin County (3).

Recent studies indicate that between 25% and 60% of people testing positive have no symptoms (4). Franklin County could have hundreds of people who are infected and don’t know it, which is especially dangerous for our higher-than-average elderly population.

Why should Franklin County and our North Country reopen while COVID-19 cases are rising, with such little data from testing and with limited health facilities if COVID-19 cases escalated? To safely “reopen,” we need widespread testing and contact tracing, only possible with federal help.

And the business community agrees: “Fifty-seven percent of upstate CEOs say New York’s primary focus should be addressing the public health crisis for the time being while 35 percent think New York State should plan to relax restrictions on business operations and move towards being back in business by the first of May” (5).

Yes, people are anxious, scared, concerned about food and rent, and how their businesses are going to survive. Here in the North Country, we are doing what we do, volunteering and pitching in to help people. The Saranac Lake school system is providing food for families of children under 18. The Franklin County Office of the Aging is providing food for anyone 60 years and older. AdkAction is distributing food boxes made from regional farms’ produce. The Adirondack Foundation has donated tens of thousands of dollars to local not-for-profits to keep food and services flowing to our people. The Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation just distributed small grants to local Saranac Lake retailers and restaurants to help those businesses with expenses.

Rep. Stefanik, thank you for doing your job … so far. Now is the time for the federal government to step up and help with expanding testing and contact tracing and help fund our state and county governments and hospitals — all necessary to reopen successfully.

Help us reopen our economy by providing testing for a minimum of 152 people per 100,000 each day in our region. We need widespread testing, not just for the desperately sick and front-line health workers (who absolutely should be tested first).

Ms. Stefanik, why aren’t you fighting to get New York state and our region the money we need? “States such as Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana, which the pandemic has touched relatively lightly, are getting more than $300,000 per reported COVID-19 case,” according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. On the other hand, New York, the worst-hit state, would receive only $12,000 per case. Florida is getting $132,000 per case” (6 ).

The North Country should not be used as a test case in reopening. Not healthy for us. Not caring for us. Not good for us. Not the North Country spirit of pitching in and solving the problem. Not representing us.

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Lindy Ellis lives in Saranac Lake and is a Franklin County legislator, representing the towns of Franklin and Harrietstown.

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Footnotes:

1. “Stefanik: North Country can reopen sooner than downstate,” April 18, 2020, Adirondack Daily Enterprise article

2. 118 tests conducted since March 11, averaging 3.2 tests per day, Franklin County Public Health

3. “Coronavirus Testing Needs to Triple Before the U.S. Can Reopen, Experts Say,” April 17, 2020, New York Times

4. “Coronavirus clue? Most cases aboard U.S. aircraft carrier are symptom-free,” April 16, 2020, Reuters

5. Siena College Poll conducted April 3-14, 2020: Special Upstate New York business leader COVID-19 survey

6. Kaiser Health News, April 10, 2020: “Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19”