March 1, 2021 marked the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case reported in the State of New York. In the following weeks, the world changed as schools, restaurants and businesses shut down as the virus spread.

Maybrook Mayor Dennis Leahy reflected on the events of the past year at Monday’s village board meeting.

“On March 9, 2020, the Village of Maybrook Board of Trustees hosted our last in-person village board meeting,” he said. “Who knew where we would be one year later.”

As of Monday, there had been 38,307 positive cases of COVID-19 reported in Orange County since the pandemic began in March 2020. Since the last Maybrook Village Board meeting on Feb. 22, there had been an average of 4,708 new COVID-19 cases in the county. This is an average of 314 cases a day over a 15-day period.

As of Monday, 732 total deaths had been reported throughout the county, an increase in 42 since the last village board meeting. Hospitalizations are down significantly from the last meeting. As of Monday, there were 89 people hospitalized, which is much lower than the 130 hospitalizations on Feb. 22. 85 of the 89 individuals had tested positive, while four had symptoms. Leahy confirmed that the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the county is no longer a concern. This is a major step forward, as these beds were hard to come by during the height of the pandemic.

Orange County has been distributing vaccines as soon as they are available. A Code Red announcement was sent out last week encouraging residents to sign up on the Orange County website vaccination.orangecountygov.com.

Any seniors or residents who do not have internet access can call 845-291-2330 for assistance to register. In addition, any senior over the age of 65 in the Village of Maybrook who needs extra assistance can contact Village Clerk/Treasurer Tina Johnson at 845-427-2717 extension 201.

Leahy added that vaccinations are coming into the county and more people will be vaccinated as time moves forward. Leahy encouraged residents to continue to follow COVID-19 protocols. “As always, please wear your masks and continue practicing social distancing,” he said.