The Allegany County Health Department is asking the public’s help to alleviate the unprecedented strain that COVID-19 and its emerging variants have placed on emergency medical services personnel, frontline workers and hospitals. The Health Department asks that you avoid going to emergency departments for minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds and low grade fevers, and opt to seek non-emergency care from primary care physicians or urgent care centers. They also ask that you not go to the emergency department just to obtain a COVID-19 test, but rather use a home test kit, or go to an approved testing site. As of Tuesday, there have been 341 new COVID cases and five additional deaths. The county has surpassed the state in cases per 100,000, and in the positivity rate. The local rate is 29.57 per cent, while the state sits at 26.91 percent. Only 49.4 per cent of Allegany County residents are fully vaccinated.