There are the direct effects of COVID.
And then, Schoharie County Sheriff Ron Stevens told supervisors Friday, there are the indirect effects.
For his staff, the indirect means dealing with the fall-out from unemployment, grief, death and divorce:
Drug overdoses, domestic violence, and suicide.
“In one night alone, we had four suicide complaints,: Sheriff Stevens said, “and the drug issue reared its ugly head again,” with another heroin overdose.
Calls to CARRT—the Schoharie County Child at Risk Response Team—are also up dramatically, Sheriff Stevens said.
From January 1-May 18, CARRT had had just five calls, he said; from May 18 to now, there have been 18.
“These are kids without the normal way to disclose [physical or sexual abuse]…teachers, afterschool, gym teachers, people they trust,” Sheriff Stevens said.
“Many of these children are suffering at home today. I think when schools open again, there’s going to be an uptick [in reports]. This is having so many effects on society…
“Our deputies are social workers…they’re doing a remarkable job. “

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There’s also another, human consequence of COVID-19, two supervisors said, blaming the state for restrictions on hospitals and visitors.
An angry Harold Vroman of Summit said he wasn’t allowed to be in the hospital when his wife had surgery.
“Quite frankly, after 47 years, I know what my wife needs,” he said. “I don’t need someone in the Governor’s office to tell me what she needs.
“We have these people at protests, side-by-side…The rioters…That’s wrong. The first thing they try to do is split the family. Wake up folks.”
Esperance Supervisor Earl VanWormer said when his nephew began having seizures and was sent through several hospitals, only one of his parents was allowed in.
Because the boy is young, he said, they picked his mother—which meant his father didn’t get to see him for days.
“It seems like they have different sets of rules. I agree with Harold,” he said.