Nora Mishanec is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a spike of COVID-19 cases in Columbia County have been tracked back to two golf events held outside of the county, health officials announced August 4. The county has confirmed 15 new cases, Columbia County Public Health Director Jack Mabb said in a statement. The number of people on mandatory quarantine jumped by 18 over the past weekend as officials tracked those who may have been in contact with the infected golfers. Of the 102 county residents under mandatory quarantine many are connected to the golf gatherings, including employees at four retail stores and two private day cares in the county, officials said. Asked about a rumored "high number of cases" originating from the Walmart Supercenter on Fairview Avenue in Greenport, Mabb said those rumors are "untrue as far as we know at this time.” However, “there is one confirmed case, although as its employees get tested, there may wind up being more,” he said. Anyone who has been in contact with an infected person will hear from the county Department of Health. One of the golf gatherings was held July 10 and 11 and another was held July 24. Neither event was an organized tournament, Mabb said. Officials believe that the golfers who spread the COVID-19 virus were not wearing masks or social distancing during the outdoor gatherings. PROGRAM NOTE: Mabb will be a guest on the WGXC Morning Show, Wed., Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. to provide listeners with the latest updates. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.