Join GO ART! for the organization's first Virtual Birthday Party at 7 p.m.

The party includes gallery tours, live performances by Jackie Siegel McLean, Theresa & Mark Kehl, Madison Hoerbelt, and the Canning Family, the Genean (Genesee-Orleans) Arts and Culture Awards, and winner announcements for its Quarantine Contest and Juried Show, “Art of the Rural.”

Genesee/Orleans Public Health Director Paul Pettit reported a bit of welcome good news related to local COVID-19 trends at this afternoon’s Genesee County Legislature Ways & Means Committee videoconferencing meeting.

“If you look at the (tracking system) mapping around you can see that although our cases climbed collectively, our active cases are actually trending downward,” Pettit said. “That is a great sign as you’ve probably seen that in the numbers that we’ve had, where last week we were pushing eight to 10 to 11 (active cases) a day and this week it’s 1, 2, 3.”

Pettit said he is “very proud” of the department’s tracking system. (See daily update story below.)

“I’ve compared it to some of our neighboring counties and around the state, and we’re able to provide great data for folks in both our counties. We have the confirmed case layer and the active case layer,” he said.

The director was in attendance to advance a resolution showing that the NYS Department of Health has awarded the Genesee County Health Department funding in the amount of $27,883 for COVID-19 investigations, data management, overtime, quarantine support and supplies.

The resolution was passed unanimously by Ways & Means and will go to the full legislature for a final vote.

This money comes on the heels of $67,490 in state funding that was received a couple weeks ago.

While grateful for state assistance, Pettit said his department has been unable to acquire the amount of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that it needs.

“We’re still terribly short, unfortunately. We’re working with emergency management closely; there is a little bit of flow coming through there (with) some reports of levels of PPE coming in for this Friday.”

He said it is a percentage of what the department has been ordering but “it still pales in comparison to what we have asked for and what we really need.”

County Manager Jay Gsell concurred, adding that finding PPE is a statewide problem.

“Our county EMO (Emergency Management Office) people have been constantly, constantly making inquiries, and asking and asking repeatedly,” Gsell said. “The state controls all this. Where is it? When is it coming here? They’ll just tell us that they’ve got tons of hand sanitizer. That’s about what it is.”

Gsell said that the county has been working with United Memorial Medical Center and other sources to get testing kits, but is getting no answers from the state Office of Emergency Management when it comes to PPE.

Pettit said the health department is fully staffed at this point (the legislature authorized additional employees through the crisis), and acknowledged a “lot of overtime, especially on the weekends with our nursing level and epidemiologists.”

He credited other Genesee County departments for assisting his agency, including county employees who are helping to drive health officials to the daily mandatory checks on those in quarantine and isolation.

“There are some tired eyes and a lot of yawning, and we’ve been going through a lot of coffee here at the health department, but beyond that we’re holding together,” Pettit said. “It’s a group effort and people are doing a great job in tracing down these contacts and containing them, which is the ultimate goal.”

In a related development, Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said she signed an extension to Genesee County’s State of Emergency declaration to be in effect until May 12, as per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order.

Press release:

• State will begin conducting antibody tests prioritizing frontline workers beginning this week -- 2,000 tests per day using a finger prick test.
• Announces state will give 100 ventilators to Michigan and 50 ventilators to Maryland.
• Issues Executive Order requiring nursing homes to inform family members of residents of COVID-19 cases.
• Issues Executive Order allowing individuals sssisting with COVID-19 response to stay in a hotel in New York City for more than 28 days without becoming a tenant.
• SUNY and CUNY colleges using 3D printers to produce personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers.
• Confirms 11,571 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 213,779; new cases in 43 counties.
• Governor Cuomo: "It's going to be a phased reopening, right. And during the phased reopening, the priority is to make sure you do no harm and keep your eye on the public health issue. That is what is key in all of this. So it's going to be a calibration of reopening based on public health safety and that infection rate because what we have done, and the reducing of the infection rate, is a pure function of what New Yorkers have done and what people across the country have done. When you relax that social distancing, you could very well see an increase in the infection rate. So it's all a calibration to the public health. But it's going to be a gradual increase of economic activity in calibration with the public health, public health standards. The single best tool to doing this gauging, right, is large-scale testing. Test, trace and isolate."
• "Don't tell me that we can't do it because I know that we can do it. We can we build a bridge that takes us from today to 18 months? Yes. Yes, because we are bridge builders, that's what we do. We build bridges. Sometimes literally, sometimes symbolically, sometimes metaphorically, but we build bridges. That's what we do in New York and we're going to do this."

Previously:

• It may be a good idea to wear face masks (just don't buy masks needed by medical professionals)
• Local residents making masks for people in our community

These are the people who have contacted us to say they are available to make masks for their fellow Genesee County residents. We haven't asked what, if anything, they're charging.  

• Roxanne: alterationssewing@aol.com
• Shandra: shandamabon@gmail.com
• Bethany: betsanee@yahoo.com
• Nancy: tuniquel@rochester.rr.com
• Crystal: chavens92@gmail.com
• Shirley: snigrohill@hotmail.com
• Karen: karensyarnpaperscissors@gmail.com

If you are available to sew cloth masks for other people and would like to be listed, email howard@thebatavian.com. Here is a link to the CDC guidelines (pdf).

There are three new positive tests for people in Genesee County for COVID-19, the Health Department is reporting this afternoon, bringing the total of positive cases reported in the county since the pandemic reached our community to 80.

Earlier today, the Health Department reported the county's second COVID-19-related death, a person over age 65 living in the central part of the county.

There are currently 99 people in mandatory quarantine and 37 people recovered. A total of 48 of the positive cases are among people age 50 and younger, including three under age 20.

There are now 11 positive cases at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, an increase of six since Saturday.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the new cases are:

• Two 21-year-old Salvadoran nationals, and a 35-year-old Dominican national;
• A 24-year-old Indian national, a 41-year-old Haitian national, and a 30-year-old Guatemalan national;
• A 33-year-old Guatemalan national;
• A 62-year-old Pakistani national, a 29-year-old Somali national, a 37-year-old Honduran national and a 31-year-old Honduran national;

There are no new cases since yesterday at the Veterans Hospital in Batavia.

Contrary to some social media comments, Premier Genesee in Batavia reports no positive test cases to date.

There is one person in treatment and isolation at UMMC.

O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia, where some employees have expressed concern about positive cases among their coworkers, posted a statement on social media about its efforts to keep employees safe:

We applaud the recent measures taken by Governor Cuomo to stop the spread of the coronavirus and flatten the curve!

At O-AT-KA Milk Products, we are dedicated to ensuring that our employees, business partners, and community stay safe, healthy and supported. In addition to our normal strict hygiene standards, we have put in place additional safety measures in our plant and office. Despite being difficult to come by, we made it a priority to provide face masks to everyone working at O-AT-KA. As of April 13th, we have supplied every employee across our facility with face coverings.

People are at the heart of our business and it is because of them that we are able to ensure the stability of our national food supply chain.

Below is the full written briefing from the Genesee/Orleans Health Department:

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received three new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 80 positive cases.
    • The three positive cases reside in Batavia.
    • One individual is in their 20s, one individual is in their 40s, and one individual is in their 90s.
    • The positive individuals were not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
    • Genesee County received notification of the second COVID-19 related death.
• Orleans County: Three new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 33.
  • Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Ridgeway, one lives in Gaines, and one lives in Murray.
  • The ages include 1 individual is in their 40s, one individual is in their 70s and one individual is in their 90s.
  • Two have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Three of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and the ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

From Senator Charles E. Schumer:

As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the country, making New York its epicenter with over 10,000 deaths, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately clarify its plan to address the lack over oversight and inspection of the American food supply system – to restore peace of mind to millions.

Last month, the FDA announced the temporary suspension of domestic routine surveillance facility inspections and the relaxation of compliance requirements for food producers.

According to Schumer, as the virus continues to spread throughout the United States, the nation’s grocery and food industries were not spared. Schumer’s concerns over the FDA’s rollbacks were exacerbated by recent reports  of outbreaks in food distribution facilities, processing plants, warehouses, and grocery stores around the nation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is reaching alarming new levels every day, leaving no part of life untouched and millions of Americans perpetually concerned,” Senator Schumer said. “In the midst of all that we are facing, New Yorkers deserve to have the peace of mind that the food on their tables is safe to eat.

"Contaminated food sickens and kills thousands of Americans every year and the challenge of this virus must not be an excuse to let our guard down when it comes to keeping our food supply safe for consumers. The FDA must not scale back essential food-safety inspections and must maintain food-production requirements and guarantee the safety of our food supply in these trying times."

Schumer’s call for adequate oversight and inspection of the domestic food supply follows reports that the FDA has suspended routine surveillance facility inspections and relaxed compliance requirements. The senator demanded to know how the FDA was guaranteeing food safety for Americans, especially during a time where New Yorkers are depending on a reliable food supply.

The Center for Diseases Control estimates that roughly one in six Americans, or 48 million people, get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne illnesses every year, even with the FDA’s usual regulations in place.

Salmonella alone causes about 1.2 million illnesses and 450 deaths in the United States, costing about $350 million annually. A salmonella outbreak linked to papaya sickened 24 people in New York last year.

Public Notice

In the best interests of the Town of Bergen and our residents and businesses I declare a new State of Emergency for the Town of Bergen as of 5 p.m. today, April 15, 2020.

The declaration allows the Supervisor discretion to use all facilities, equipment, supplies, personnel and other resources of the Town of Bergen to cope with the COVID-19 emergency.

I anticipate that it will be critical to have Town of Bergen personnel available to respond to various needs arising in the Town. I am sure we will all rise to the occasion to help each other, safely, during this time.

Thank you,

Ernest Haywood
Supervisor, Town of Bergen
10 Hunter St.
Bergen, NY
Ph: 585-494-1121
Fax: 585-494-1372

This is "Keko" the cat who escaped from a reader's home on Williams Street in the city yesterday (April 14) to embark on a caper. (May we presume a wild springtime jaunt?)

So an All Points Bulletin is hereby issued for readers of The Batavian to be on the scout for this brown and black brindle-coated scamp.

Keko shares the moniker with two Spanish soccer players and a Guyanan rapper. The letters of the name are also the call letters of 101.7 FM, a Spanish Christian radio station serving the Corpus Christi, Texas area.

And Keko is the name of an administrative ward in the Temeke district of Dar es-Salaam region of Tanzania.

Just sayin'...

If you spot this pet, please call (585) 813-7315 with information.

Public Notice

By order of Town of Bethany Supervisor and Chief Executive Officer Carl Hyde Jr., a State of Emergency was declared in the Town of Bethany, effective at 3 p.m. on March 19, 2020 due to the ongoing viral pandemic of COVID-19 and the existing States of Emergency at the Federal, State, and County level.

This State of Emergency is hereby renewed by the Town Supervisor of Bethany.

This State of Emergency is declared in an effort to protect public health and safety and will remain in effect for 30 days or until rescinded by a subsequent order.

As the Chief Executive of the Town of Bethany, County of Genesee, State of New York, I, Carl Hyde Jr., exercise the authority given me under Section 24 of the New York State Executive Law, to preserve the public safety and hereby render all required and available assistance vital to the security, well-being, and health of the citizens of this Municipality. I hereby direct all departments and agencies of the Town of Bethany to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary.

Carl Hyde Jr.

Town Supervisor, Town of Bethany

April 19, 2020

From Village of Bergen Mayor Anna Marie Barclay:

After much consideration, and collaboration with the Village Board of Trustees, Town Supervisor Ernest Haywood, and the Bergen Volunteer Fire Department, and determining what is in the best interests of the Village of Bergen and our residents and businesses, a new State of Emergency for the Village of Bergen will take effect at 3 p.m. today, April 15.

The declaration allows the Mayor discretion to use all facilities, equipment, supplies, personnel and other resources of the Village of Bergen to cope with the COVID-19 emergency.

It is anticipated that it will be critical to have Village of Bergen personnel available to respond to various needs arising in the Village. Assuredly, we will all rise to the occasion to help each other, to keep everyone as safe as possible, during this time.

Public Notice

The County of Genesee and the State of New York have declared States of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The outbreak poses and immediate danger to public health and safety which endangers the residents and businesses of the Village of Bergen.

I believe it is in the best interest of the Village of Bergen and our residents/businesses for me to issue a State of Emergency in the Village of Bergen, which will allow me the discretion to use any and all facilities, equipment, supplies and other resources of the Village of Bergen in such a manner as may be neceesary or appropriate to cope with the disaster of emergency resulting there from.

In particular, but with no limitation, I anticipate that it will be critical to have the Village of Bergen personnel available to respond to specific, but currently unforeseen, needs arising in the Village. The Village of Bergen will be coordinating efforts with the Town of Bergen.

Therefore I have exercised the authority given to me and the Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of the Village of Bergen, pursuant to Article 2B of the Executive Law of the State of New York, and hereby declare a state of emergency effective this date, April 15, 2020 at 3 pm. in the Village of Bergen, Genesee County, New York.

This state of emergency shall remain in effect for the next 30 days unless and until rescinded or extended by me for additional 30-day period.

Any residents in need of special or emergency assistance are advised to contact 9-1-1. All residents are advised to monitor the Village of Bergen website, local media reports for continued updates and advisories.

Anna Marie Barclay

Mayor

Village of Bergen

Jane Burk, a member of Batavia Players, reads "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

Press release:

"It is with great sadness that I am reporting the second confirmed death related to COVID-19 in Genesee County” said Paul Pettit, Public Health director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

The individual was over the age of 65 and resided in the central part of Genesee County.

“Due to privacy issues, I will not be releasing further information about this individual. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the patient,” Pettit said.

The Genesee County Health Department is conducting contact tracing. Close contacts have been notified of their potential exposure to COVID-19, and have been placed under mandatory quarantine to monitor for symptoms.

Individuals under mandatory quarantine who develop symptoms will be swabbed. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are following guidance provided by the NYSDOH and CDC.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread within our communities, we must do everything we can to keep each other safe,” Pettit said. “Please remain home unless you are an essential worker or need to purchase essential household items. In that case, designate one household member to do the shopping. We must work together as a community to stop the spread.”

UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: In response to questions from The Batavian, Mari Hamilton, a public information officer for the Health Department, said the victim was previously among those reported in mandatory isolation and had been hospitalized.

A two-car accident with injuries is reported in Pavilion at Ellicott Street Road and Starr Road. One of the vehicles rolled over. Pavilion Fire Department is responding.

Staff at Wendy's on Main Street in Batavia called 9-1-1 to report verbal abuse by a female driver at the drive-thru. They said she yelled at the workers. City police are responding.

Tiny homes are all the rage and this one has all you need plus so much more!

Downstairs is spacious and homey, with a great entrance morning room with fireplace and cathedral ceiling which leads to kitchen and large pantry closet. A formal dining area and front living room make up the rest. Upstairs has large master suite with full bath -- redone in 2014 -- closets galore and laundry area.

This house packs a lot in with a lot of bang here for the buck. With a little elbow grease you will truly have a little paradise! Call Reliant Real Estate today, call 344-HOME (4663).

From Rick Mancuso, owner of T.F. Brown's Restaurant:

At this time we would like to notify the Genesee County community that we will be closing until we get further guidance from government officials as to how and when we will be allowed to open as a full-service restaurant.

We would like to thank our dedicated, hardworking family of coworkers for all of their sacrifice and efforts through these most difficult and trying times.

I am very proud to be able to work with such an amazing group of people, for they are truly the heart and soul of our business.

To our many customers, friends and family that continue to patronize our establishment both past and present: “Thank you and we look forward to seeing you here at T.F. Brown’s in the near future.”

We would like to thank all of the front line heroes who sacrifice and risk their safety each day to protect and serve this community -- doctors, nurses, EMTs, fire, police, essential food and product providers, many  that are our neighbors, friends and family. 

Please keep them all in your good thoughts and prayers. 

Be safe and healthy.

Daily COVID-19 briefing:

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received one new positive case of COVID-19 for a total of 77 positive cases.
    • The individual resides in Batavia.
    • The individual is in their 30s.
    • The positive individual was not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the positive cases are hospitalized.
• Orleans County: Twp new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 31
  • Of the new positive cases today, one lives in Albion and one lives in Barre
  • The ages include one individual is under 20 and one individual is in their 80s.
  • Three have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation
  • Three of the positive cases are hospitalized.
• Mapping Update: Today we are adding Wyoming County mapping. Genesee Orleans County will not be making any statement related to Wyoming County. Please contact the Wyoming County Health Department for any inquiries.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.