Dutchess County COVID-19 Dashboard Gets Facelift With New Data

Starting Friday, the Dutchess County COVID-19 Dashboard will show new source data for several key data points, including deaths, officials say.

The updated dashboard will use data from the New York State Department of Health to report the total number of confirmed cases, tests completed and total deaths. The change comes after a large influx of fatality data received this week, mostly from local hospitals, that significantly increased the total number of COVID-19 related deaths of Dutchess County residents, officials say.

“We made a promise that as new information becomes available to us here in county government, we would be exceptionally clear and honest about the situation, and as accurate as possible," Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said in a press release. "As we are not the reporting authority for much of the case data, and as the volume of data continues to increase, we want to ensure what is reported is clear and understandable. Streamlining the data reporting this way reduces confusion and keeps the public informed with the most up to date information available.”

The New York State Department of Health has authority and oversight over many of the facilities reporting case data, including hospitals and nursing homes.

Active case data will continue to be reported by Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health along with a breakdown by municipality and number of recoveries. COVID-19 hospitalizations will continue to be reported in coordination with local hospitals.

“There is an enormous volume of data being generated daily as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, much of which local health departments do not have direct access to," Dr. Anil Vaidian, Commissioner of Behavioral & Community Health, said. "The state has been impressive, providing this aggregate data, by county, on a daily basis for the public, as this kind of data is generally only reported on an annual basis. However, it will take some time, likely several months, before all of the needed specific data is reported down to the local health departments.”