Sullivan County is seeing a small increase in the number of known active COVID-19 cases this week after they'd been hovering in the low single digits throughout August.

As of presstime yesterday, Sullivan County Public Health Services was reporting 14 active cases, up from the five it was reporting on August 21.

Public Health Services was reporting at least 6 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday night with multiple possible exposures.

They said the new cases did not appear to be linked or the result of a cluster (related to a common event or exposure).

On Monday evening, local businessman Randy Resnick said that one of his employees tested positive for COVID-19.

“This is the first instance that we've had a COVID-19 positive test of any of our employees,” he said.

Resnick said for the safety of their staff and customers, they made the immediate decision to shut down Bernie's Holiday Restaurant and Crust Italian Eatery.

All of Resnick's employees were encouraged to quarantine regardless of if they had been in contact with the employee who tested positive.

“This really hits hard and hits home,” Resnick said. “This is a very sad day for us. It's the last two weeks of summer and we're having to close both restaurants just to be careful. There's just too much to risk.”

On Wednesday evening, Public Health Services said anyone who visited Nelly's Sports Bar in Monticello on Saturday, August 15 may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Public Health Services said in a statement that two individuals who visited the bar on the night of August 15 have tested positive, and one additional person is hospitalized and presumed to be positive pending test results.

As far as Public Health staff can determine, few or no individuals were wearing masks or social distancing at the sports bar that evening.

“The more an individual interacts with others, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread,” explained Public Health Director Nancy McGraw. “The risk of COVID-19 spread increases in a restaurant or bar setting if people are in very close proximity to each other and drinking alcohol.”

Also on Wednesday evening, Public Health Services said anyone who visited Ahava Medical & Rehabilitation Urgent Care Center at 25 Carrier Street in Liberty around Aug. 19 -23 may have been exposed to an employee who was actively contagious with COVID-19, and so should contact Public Health Services at 845-292-5910.

“The individual continued to work despite feeling ill and after testing positive. Public Health Staff are working closely with the facility to develop a list of individuals who may have visited the facility on those dates to determine the number of possible exposures,” Public Health Services said.

COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. It is thought that the virus may spread to hands from a contaminated surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing infection. Therefore, personal prevention practices (such as hand-washing, staying home when sick) and environmental cleaning and disinfection are important principles to keep in mind.

“Thinking that 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,” stated McGraw. “If we ignore the existing scientific evidence, the number of cases in Sullivan County will be guaranteed to climb again. The demonstrated irresponsibility of some individuals are putting many other people at risk by not taking these preventive measures seriously."

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.

Individuals who have questions regarding access to 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.