BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON — With Christmas and New Year’s Eve just days away, St. Lawrence County’s Board of Health president says people should celebrate, but with caution and abiding by public health measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Dr. Andrew Williams spoke with the St. Lawrence County legislature’s Finance Committee during their Monday, Dec. 21 meeting.

He showed the board a slide that said a majority of COVID-19 infections are traced back to household and social gatherings.

“I could also put a slide up about how social isolation is bad for someone’s health,” the doctor said. “People need to do the holidays. We just need to do them safely.”

He said people planning holiday gatherings should plan them taking into consideration what he has been calling “The Five Pillars of Prevention,” simple steps everyone should be taking to stop the coronavirus from spreading. Those include wearing a mask, hand washing, staying home when sick, staying local and “physical distancing, not social distancing,” meaning people should stay at least six feet apart.

“We just need to remember that … family gatherings and social gatherings really do play a significant role in fueling this pandemic,” Dr. Williams said. “People need to connect with one another. They just need to plan safely.”

St. Lawrence County has seen a huge spike in COVID-19, especially since Thanksgiving. The county’s rate of new cases per day is 46.4, above the seven-county North Country regional rate of 33.4 new cases per day.

“Since we’re a county of just slightly over 100,000, when you compare to the region, we still are having more daily cases,” Dr. Williams said.