SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon expanded on his social distancing orders during his press conference on Sunday; asking the public to go under a voluntary shelter in place.

According to McMahon, Onondaga County needs to “double down” on their social distancing efforts, or else McMahon worries the social distancing rules will stay in place into the summer.

The county executive can’t order a shelter in place, so he is asking the public to voluntarily take it upon themselves and go under a shelter in place. Obviously if you are an essential worker, McMahon says you can go to work.

The voluntary shelter in place goes into effect on Tuesday, April 7 and lasts until April 21.

Below are the rules for the voluntary shelter in place:

If you were born on an even year, you are allowed to go out and get any necessary items or go to a local park on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The second Sunday during the shelter in place will also be reserved for people born during an even year.

If you were born on an odd year, you are allowed to go out and get any necessary items or go to a local park on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The first Sunday during the shelter in place will also be reserved for people born during an odd year.

The county executive said he does not make decisions unless the data warrants it, and McMahon said, “We’re becoming comfortable with COVID-19, and we can’t be comfortable with COVID-19.”

At the press conference, McMahon also announced an executive order closing all golf courses in Onondaga County.

We’re going to get through this process. We’re going to get through it together. We need you more than we’ve ever needed you to buy in, and two weeks from now if we can do this, if we can really dive into this, the data is going to change, and we’re going to be on the other end of this and looking at what our recovery looks like but we need you to get there.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon

Below are the updated coronavirus numbers for Onondaga County that were announced at the press conference on Sunday:

  • Total cases – 364
  • Recovered – 113
  • Deaths – 5
  • Active Cases – 246
  • Currently Hospitalized – 28
  • Critical Condition – 17

County Executive McMahon announced the fifth person who died from COVID-19 was a man in his early 60s with underlying health conditions.

McMahon mentioned 15 more people were diagnosed with the virus since Saturday’s press conference, and 12 people had recovered from the virus. According to the county executive, once more people are recovering from the virus than are getting infected, the county will be heading in the right direction towards flattening the curve.

According to McMahon over 5,200 tests have been performed in the county. Onondaga County is still waiting for results on about 400 tests, but not all of those tests are from people in Onondaga County. Some of the pending results could be from people living outside the county who came to Onondaga to get tested.

The county is currently reporting about 7.5% of people who are tested for the virus come back positive.

The County Executive also stated that four local businesses may have been exposed to COVID-19. You can read about those businesses by clicking here.

The county executive said the next two weeks are critical in order to flatten the curve. McMahon said he also may have to close public parks in the future if people can’t listen to social distancing rules, but he does not want to do that.

McMahon also re-iterated that if you feel sick you must stay home, even if you are considered an essential employee. If your employer is giving you a hard time, you are asked to call the county executive’s office.

“Staying at home saves lives,” McMahon said.

For any phone numbers you may need to reference during the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

To watch the full press conference from Sunday, click on the player below.

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