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Niagara County Health Department Announces They Are No Longer Contact Tracing Positive COVID-19 Individuals

By: Staff

The Niagara County Health Department announced this afternoon that three additional individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the County. These three new positive cases bring the total number to twelve throughout Niagara County.

Many residents throughout Niagara County have expressed frustration with the Health Department for not sufficiently informing the public with regard to community contact that the infected individuals have had. Specifically, the frustration has stemmed from the fact that Erie County has done this in depth.

Stunningly, hidden in the release this afternoon, Niagara County Health Director Daniel Stapleton admitted that the department would, “no longer be doing full-scale community contact tracing as it has little to no clinical value at this point.”

Stapleton continued, stating, “as every health and government officials has repeatedly said, act is if the virus is everywhere because it probably is. A few months ago, we had a hepatitis outbreak at a local restaurant.  Contact tracing – letting people know if you ate this restaurant at this date and time please get tested – made sense.  It does not make sense in a pandemic and it’s taking time away from other critical functions.”

As of today, it appears Niagara County will no longer provide contact tracing to the public to alert residents to where these infected individuals have been.