Press release:

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have received four more COVID-19 cases. Orleans has three new cases (bringing the total to 132) and Genesee has one (bringing the total to 164). 

Contact tracing has been initiated and all who have had direct contact with the individuals will be notified by Health Department staff. Two of the Orleans County individuals are residents of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center and one is a community member. Genesee County’s individual who tested positive is a community member.

We have also received word of the death of an individual who had tested positive for COVID-19 and was a resident of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of this individual during this very sad time.

There is currently no further information to release on ages and locations. Mapping to include the positive cases from the weekend will be updated on Monday afternoon.

We continue to encourage all residents to be vigilant about handwashing, cleaning frequently used surfaces, properly wearing cloth face coverings over the mouth and nose, keeping your hands away from your face, limiting time out in public and when you do need to go out for essentials you designate one person from your household, keep social distancing and stay home if you are sick.

Story and photos courtesy of Anne Marie Starowitz.

In touring the Holland Land Office Museum a visitor can be taken back to the time when Joseph Ellicott surveyed the land with the help of our Native Americans. They can imagine what it was like to cook on the hearth of a fireplace.

The numerous artifacts illustrate our early history. Every decade has its own memories and artifacts. Fast forwarding to the 1960s, people in their 60s might have shared some of these childhood memories with their children.

It always seems an exaggeration, the “hardships” our parents endured, until parents in their 60s are telling similar stories to their children.

In the ‘60s, your summer would include playing outside. What that really meant was you would create your own fun and the word “bored” was not part of your vocabulary.

Children still love to play kickball today, but kickball in the ‘60s was a game that could be played for hours. Where it was played was quite an adventure. If your front yard was big enough, that was where the bases would be put. The bases would be very creative depending on what you could find for the day.

Sandlot baseball games could be found in almost any vacant lot.

If you had a piece of cardboard from Max Pies Furniture Store you could be seen sliding down the side of the South Jackson Street overpass.

Other games included hopscotch and 7UP (not the game played in school today but one that involved a ball and a slanted roof). The players had to catch, bounce, and throw a ball in seven different ways. The one who completed the seven steps was the winner.

Rollerblades were unheard of but roller skates with ball bearings were the skates to own.

The skater needed to have a pair of shoes that had leather soles.

The skates were clamped on the shoes with a skate key.

They were quite heavy but if you were lucky enough to have a pair you learned how to maneuver them.

Misplacing the key was the biggest problem with these skates, so the skater would wear the key on a string around his or her neck.

If it was hot out, which seemed to be almost every day, a sprinkler was set up and you would run through it. There was a rope swing over the Tonawanda Creek for the daring swimmers at Kibbe Park.

Many children frequented the two wading pools in the city. In the winter the wading pools were transformed into ice rinks.

Young people also could ice-skate on the tennis courts at MacArthur Park with music playing and hot chocolate to warm them up.

On any given winter day there would be a line of children waiting to slide down the State Street Hill, today known as Centennial Park.

Backyard pools were very rare, but there was the Community Pool or as it was called by kids of the ‘60s, the New Pool. Most of the young people were very coordinated, probably because everything they did was outside, running, walking, hopping, riding a bike.

There were many versions of playing tag and there was a game called Spud (Scroll down the link's list of 30 classic children's games to find Spud).

There was also the saying that “when the street lights come on, you are to come home.”

A highlight of the summer was the Parks Program. A young person would be waiting at the park for the park supervisor to open the door to the day’s activity.

When a child would bring home a plaster of paris mold of "The Last Supper," the mom would say how much she loved it and would wonder what she was going to do with another mold from the park. It weighed a few pounds and was painted in multicolors and had a little hook attached to the back to hang it. Somehow next summer "The Last Supper” would be gone but another plaster of paris craft would soon be brought home to be admired by the parents.

Many dads were proud owners of rattlesnake ashtrays.

There were many activities that involved movement. There was the (pre-skateboard era) bongo board, a pogo stick, and tetherball (plus, jump rope and hand-clapping games*). Youngsters could also play baseball, ride bicycles or just plain walk.

Parks would play other parks in baseball and started preparing for the annual Parks Parade on the first day the parks opened.

One year the theme was "I Never Saw a Thing Like that!" Farrall Park created a "Zelepea," which had the head of an elephant, body of a zebra, and the tail of a peacock. The head moved and water squirted out of the nose.

Every park entered a float, scrapbook and crafts to be judged on the final day of the parks program.

One could not list all of the technology the young people today have at their disposal. In the ‘60s you were lucky if you had a transistor radio and a high fidelity stereo (Hi-Fi) to play your 45-RPM records on.

Popular music included The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Franki Valli & the Four Seasons to only name a few.

As far as a telephone, the phone was attached to the wall and if you were lucky it had a long cord you could stretch to another room or a closet for a little privacy.

Today a child learns at an early age, not only the rules of a fire drill, but how to react to an active shooter or a bomb threat.

People in their 60s remember the bomb drills that included hiding under their desks with their arms over their heads.

Young people today will someday have to share with their children what it was like to live in their decade. One cannot imagine using the story the people in their 60s heard when they were young -- “I had to walk to and from school in blizzards, rainstorms and extreme heat uphill both ways.”

Today, there is still the Parks Program. It has changed but then everything changes over time. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 there will not be a parks program this year.

These are only a few memories of growing up in the 1960s, unforgettable to those who lived them.

*(Watch an updated epic patty-cake demo.).

Purple Pony Therapeutic Horsemanship in Le Roy hosted a drive-thru parade today to benefit Crossroads House.

Taken this afternoon in Le Roy.

Press release:

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have received six more COVID-19 cases. Orleans has five new cases and Genesee has one. 

Contact tracing has been initiated and all who have had direct contact with the individuals will be notified by Health Department staff. Two of the Orleans County individuals are residents of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center and three are community members. Genesee County’s individual who tested positive is a community member.

There is currently no further information to release on ages and location. Mapping to include the positive cases from the weekend will be updated on Monday afternoon.

As you celebrate Mother’s Day, please honor your Moms and Grandmothers by celebrating virtually or by phone so as not to potentially spread germs. 

We continue to encourage all residents to be vigilant about handwashing, cleaning frequently used surfaces, properly wearing cloth face coverings over the mouth and nose, keeping your hands away from your face, limiting time out in public and when you do need to go out for essentials you designate one person from your household, keep social distancing and stay home if you are sick.

From Genesee County Board of Elections' commissioners Dick Siebert and Lorie Longhany:

In the next few days all registered voters will be receiving an absentee application in the mail from the Genesee County Board of Elections.

This allows voters to use “temporary illness” due to the COVID-19 pandemic to apply and mail in your application with a prepaid envelope.

After we receive your application, we will mail your ballot (or ballots in the case of some voters who will receive multiple ballots) out to you, so that you will be able to vote safely.

This application is good only for the June 23^rd Primary Election. If you have any questions please call (585) 815-7804 or email us at:   election@co.genesee.ny.us

Press release:

Batavia-based Marktec Products Inc. recently sold and installed labeling equipment at the NYS Great Meadows Correctional Facility in Comstock to label hand sanitizer being produced there.

This hand sanitizer is supplied to high-risk communities and governmental entities in New York State through County Health Departments.

At the New York State Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, where hand sanitizer is produced, bottled, labeled and shipped, inmates previously applied labels by hand, which was a slow process and resulted in some labels being applied unevenly.

The containers are now labeled by inmates using three Advent Model 300 one-gallon labelers and one Advent Model 310 small-container labeler, resulting in labeling speeds of up to 20 containers per minute per machine.

Each labeling machine has a small digital ink-jet printer attached to it, to print the batch number and the date on each label.

Marktec Products Inc. is located at 8785 Ag Park Drive. Former Batavia City Councilman William E. Cox is president of the company, which makes automated systems for marking, labeling and packaging.

It snowed in Genesee County today, so of course, Santa paid us a visit.

Photo submitted by Jean Grinnell.

A resident on Main Street in Stafford has placed anti-lockdown protest signs in their yard.

Press release:

• State is partnering with Northwell Health to establish 24 temporary testing sites at churches in predominately minority communities;
• Results of state's diagnostic and antibody surveys and comprehensive survey of newly admitted patients hospitalized for COVID-19 found communities of color are most impacted by COVID-19;
• Preliminary results of antibody testing survey of more than 1,300 transit workers in the NYC Region show 14.2 percent have COVID-19 antibodies;
• Confirms 2,715 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 333,122; new cases in 48 counties.

Governor Cuomo: "Today we're launching a new initiative, again to address exactly this which is to expand access to testing in low-income communities and communities of color. We're partnering with Northwell Health which is the largest health system in New York and they're going to set up 24 additional testing sites at churches in predominantly minority communities."

Cuomo: "This is a different kind of partnership, it's creative, but it's necessary. We're working with both churches individually and association of churches and Northwell. Northwell will provide the testing in churches in lower-income communities and communities of color. The churches will help us outreach to the community to get people to come in and explain why it's important that people come in and get tested when you put the church-based sites together with the drive-thru sites, together with the walk-in testing sites, and our sites at public housing, the coverage will be extensive."

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo today announced the launch of a new initiative to expand access to testing in low-income communities and communities of color. The state is partnering with Northwell Health to establish an initial 24 temporary testing sites at churches in predominately minority communities in Downstate New York to build on the state's network of Downstate testing sites.

The results of the state's diagnostic testing and antibody testing surveys show that low-income and minority communities are suffering the most from COVID-19. The largest statewide antibody testing survey of 15,000 New Yorkers found a greater infection rate in communities of color.

Additionally, the state's comprehensive survey of all newly admitted patients hospitalized for COVID-19 found communities of color are most impacted and of the 21 zip codes with the newest COVID-19 hospitalizations, 20 have greater than average black and/or Latino populations. A deeper look into two of the most impacted communities in the survey, in Brooklyn and the Bronx, found communities of color are also lower-income and have a greater percentage of COVID-19 hospitalizations and infections than New York City overall.

Today's testing expansion initiative builds on previous state actions to address inequalities and deliver for those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, the state has partnered with Ready Responders to bring healthcare services, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, to residents of public housing in New York City and delivered one million cloth masks and 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to public housing.

The Governor also announced the preliminary results of the state's antibody testing survey of more than 1,300 transit workers in the New York City region show 14.2 percent have COVID-19 antibodies, compared to 19.9 percent of the general population in New York City.

From St. Jerome Guild Inc.:

The St. Jerome Guild Inc. is announcing a new initiative to show gratitude for the COVID-19 healthcare workers of the Rochester Regional Health/UMMC and the Jerome Center in Batavia.

As a special tribute to these employees during this pandemic, those serving on the front lines as well as supporting personnel, the Guild would like to honor each one with a gold-embroidered star.  

For the Wall of Warriors 2020, the Guild asks Genesee Livingston Orleans Wyoming (GLOW) community to support this intiative by donating $10 per star, representing each UMMC employee.

We hope to sell 1,000 "gold stars" to honor a thousand UMMC workers.

A star can represent an employee who may be a family member or friend, or just serve as a thank you for health-care providers’ tireless dedication and courage.

It acknowleges the outstanding care they give to patients suffering through these unsettling and disconcerting times.

There is no limit to donors wishing to honor more than one employee!

The star donations will be accepted by check, made payable to:

St. Jerome Guild, with notation "star" and mailed to:  St. Jerome Gift Shop at 16 Bank St., Batavia, NY 14020.

The final project will incorporate all the stars to be embedded into frames that will be on display at the North Street and the Bank Street campuses entitled, UMMC “Home Town Heroes -- Wall of Warriors 2020.”

All proceeds from this initiative will be donated to UMMC to purchase vital equipment needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Guild’s mission is to continually support our local hospital, and especially, now, during these extraordinary times.

Photos courtesy of Rochester Regional Health/UMMC.

Whether it’s to provide services or a lend a sympathetic ear, representatives of the Independent Living of the Genesee Region continue to meet the needs of disabled residents of Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties.

“The mission of Independent Living is to assist anyone with a disability – there’s no age requirement and all of our services are free of charge,” Executive Director Rae Frank said on Friday, during the latest “Genesee Connects” informational video. “The disability can be physical, cognitive or related to mental health, and it’s something that substantially limits one or more life activities.”

Frank said she understands that many people are experiencing panic and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that ILGR employees are ready to assist “whether their disability is temporary or permanent.”

Classified as an essential business, ILGR’s staff consists of 18 people, some in the office and others working from their homes, Frank said, adding that agency staff is unable to meet with clients face-to-face during the health crisis.

Kristen Lazarony, Medicaid facilitated enroller, is one of two specialists working from home to assist elderly, blind or disabled citizens with applications and submission of required documents.

“We can do their entire applications (including marketplace applications) over the phone … and certified application counselors in the building can submit them directly for you,” she said.

Lazarony added that ILGR staff is able to transport food and pharmacy orders, and loan closet equipment and can take individuals to the store.

“We also have a Consumer Directed personal aide program,” she said. “They’re able to provide masks for all of our aides, regular prescreenings and assistance with the enrollment process. They can verify your insurance, and they’re still able to do all of that over the phone.”

She also said the agency offers employment services, adult behavior health, peer support, coping skills, resources on staying safe and healthy, and can assist with resume building, job search and online applications.

The ILGR plays a strong role in finding places to live for disabled individuals, said Dominique (Dom) Johnson, Rapid Rehousing program specialist.

“We have regular independent living specialists who can help you find housing and complete applications (by) contacting you over the phone and walking you through the applications,” Johnson said.

“They may be filling it completely for you if that’s what you need, or if you’re able to fill it out, they can mail you the application and talk with you while you fill it out for any questions that you may have.”

Johnson said the Rapid Rehousing program is for eligible people who are currently homeless or previously have been homeless, and it starts with a phone call and screening.

“This is because you have been sleeping in a car or a community organization such as Community Action, Catholic Charities or Social Services is paying for you to be at a hotel or motel, or you are at a shelter – even though we don’t have shelters in our county,” he said.

“But if you are a county resident and you’re in the shelter and your residence is in one of the counties we serve, I can complete that screening to see if you are eligible for the Rapid Rehousing program."

He said that the program pays for security deposit and rental assistance for the apartment within the three counties, with the monetary allotment based on the applicant’s family size.

All three ILGR staff members emphasized that agency employees make themselves available for those who just want to hear some words of assurance during these troubling times.

“Yesterday, I spoke with a consumer that wasn’t actually in our county and after I got down to figuring out what he needed, I found out he just needed someone to talk to and vent to about everything that is going on,” Johnson said.

“I was the first person that he was actually able to get a hold of. (We’re) just letting the public know, maybe they don’t actually need a service, maybe they just need somebody to listen to them and that’s what we’re here for.”

The ILGR is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is (585) 815-8501. Johnson’s cell phone number is (716) 235-0934. More information can be found on the agency’s Facebook page.

To view the “Genesee Connects” video session hosted by Assistant County Manager Matt Landers, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1z-CGNy0w

The head of the state’s Department of Labor shook off a question about her job performance today as she updated the agency’s efforts to get benefit checks into the hands of around 470,000 New Yorkers with pending claims.

Responding to a reporter who brought up that state Sen. Patty Richie has called for her to step down, Commissioner Roberta Reardon (inset photo below) said she doesn’t have time to worry about her critics in the midst of COVID-19, a pandemic that has thus far triggered more than 1.5 million claims and nearly $7 billion in payments in the Empire State.

“I haven’t seen those news reports,” Reardon said toward the end of a 20-minute conference call with the media. “I’m squarely focused on my job, which is getting benefits to unemployed New Yorkers and I know that the rest of the team at the DOL feels the same way.”

Reardon said the DOL is “moving faster and more aggressively in New York than any other major state, and as of today, we have paid over $6.8 billion to New Yorkers in just two months, and that’s over three times that we paid in all of last year.”

She said she understands that those still waiting for benefits are angry and confused, but emphasized that the agency is proceeding as quickly as possible.

“I do understand the frustration. I have spoken to people personally about this, and if you haven’t gotten your benefits yet, then none of these numbers matter,” she said. “That’s why I’m going to keep working night and day to process applications, complete certifications and make payments. And I’ll leave the politics to the politicians because I have a job to do.”

Reardon said that every state’s labor department is staggering under the weight of claims for both traditional unemployment insurance and the pandemic unemployment assistance passed by the federal government.

“Earlier this week, the federal government announced that over 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic began to affect businesses,” she said. “And today, the federal government released figures showing that the unemployment rate in the USA hit 14.7 percent in April, and that is the highest rate since the Great Depression.”

The commissioner said the DOL has implemented several measures recently to streamline the claims process.

The latest, launched today, is designed to communicate more clearly the status of an unemployed New Yorker’s claim, she said.

“One of the things we heard from the media and directly from New Yorkers is the frustration with understanding where their application actually is in the process,” she said. “The system we have sees applications in binary terms – an application is ‘pending’ until it is ‘processed.’ So, we’ve worked within that system to figure out what milestones we can identify right now and communicate them as an application reaches those points.”

Reardon said that in the coming days, the DOL is going to roll out “a new effort to proactively inform New Yorkers about the status of their unemployment benefit application – using emails and text messages to communicate directly with New Yorkers when their application reaches the milestones in the process, and letting them know what step they are on and if any action is required and what to expect next.”

She pointed to previous action to speed up the process, including:

-- Issuing a directive to employers, reminding them they are required to provide New Yorkers who lose their job with the information they need to easily and completely file for unemployment;

-- Identifying and proactively emailing 90,000 New Yorkers with complete, processed and payable claims who have not submitted their first federally required weekly certification to release their payments;

-- And launching a new online process to allow 470,000 New Yorkers who did not certify in previous weeks to submit their prior week certifications and receive their back pay easier and faster.

Reardon said the DOL has processed more than 100,000 applications for PUA, which, she offered, is a more difficult application than the one used for traditional unemployment benefits.

“At the same time, today, 20 other states have not even begun to pay a single cent of PUA benefits yet and some have not even started accepting their applications,” she said. “This has truly been a colossal undertaking but I know these numbers are cold comfort for someone waiting for their first payment, and I want all New Yorkers to know that we will continue to work tirelessly to process their claims and make their payments.”

She also said that the agency has begun paying the $600 weekly payments to individuals with just “forfeit days” on their accounts, and that includes retroactive pay through April 5.

“For folks with other issues on their accounts beyond just forfeit days, we’re continuing to review what can be done,” she said.

After her prepared comments, Reardon answered several questions:

-- Asked about a wish list of resources needed, she first thanked the “voluntary state workforce” of 3,000 who have “stepped up and stepped out to help their fellow New Yorkers and that is really remarkable.”

She mentioned the addition of third-party call centers, 60 more servers on their main frame, thousands of new ports for the phone system, and the efficient Google application.

“But actually, my wish list would be a magic wand to make it go away,” she said.

-- Asked why it to so long to fix the DOL website and application system, that crashed in 2008, she pointed to the sheer volume of claims.

“We have 1.6 million New Yorkers processed in the last report, and we know that’s not the end of the applications; more people are coming into the system as we speak,” she replied. “There’s no state that hasn’t staggered and fallen to their knees under this. All of the states, even the states that recently rebuilt their systems, had their systems crash.”

She acknowledged that the DOL system needed an update and that one was under way.

“We did an RFP, it was an elaborate and articulate RFP that took a couple years to really get it through the system. We got our contractors and we were in the middle of a five-year rebuild and then the pandemic happened. It was a lot of forces all at once,” she said.

-- Asked about the problems processing of the PUA applications, she said things got off on the wrong foot.

“We all need to admit that it did not exist until March 27^th. It was signed into law on March 27^th … and we didn’t even get federal guidance on how to administer it as a program until April 5^th and then the guidance was complicated and, frankly, contradictory,” she said.

“Early on, people were told they had to apply for unemployment insurance and go through the process of being denied, and then they had to fill out another application – PUA – and this was very difficult.”

She said the DOL developed a streamlined application on April 20^th, but there were a lot of people who “got caught in that original glue-trap of bad regulation. And we are working on all of that; it’s moving much faster now.”

“The universe of potential filers for the $600 PUA checks is large and I don’t think they all will because many freelancers are working, frankly,” she said. “I’m very happy to say we are moving them through the system and more and more of them will be made whole every day.”

-- Asked if people were eligible if they turned down a job for health concerns, she said mentioned the state mandates regarding business reopening and the health protocols and advised anyone who “feels they are working in an unsafe environment should report it to the DOL because we will immediately investigate the situation and send inspectors out.

She then offered the following:

-- “Under federal law, if you are receiving PUA, you can not turn down a job because of generalized fear of COVID-19 or dislike of the job. And the same goes for traditional unemployment insurance.

--"Two, you can turn down a job because of a specific COVID-19-related health issue. For instance, if someone is told by her doctor that she is immune-compromised and had to self-quarantine, she would qualify for PUA.

-- “And, three, you can turn down a job because of other non-health COVID-19 scenarios and qualify for a benefit. For instance, you’re a child’s primary caretaker, and the child is unable to attend school or other childcare options because of COVID-19, you would qualify.”

Public Health COVID-19 briefing for May 8, 2020

SITUATIONAL UPDATE: STAY HOME; WASH HANDS; SOCIAL DISTANCING; WEAR A FACE COVERING!

Nurses’ Week – we would like to take a moment to thank our nursing teams in both counties as well as all the nurses who are working so hard to help those under their care. They daily provide care, instruction, encouragement, compassion, and strength to the patients and their families they are in contact with. We greatly appreciate all you do every day no matter if it is a routine day or in the midst of a pandemic, thank you!

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received one new positive case of COVID-19, for a total of 162 positive cases.
    • The positive case resides in Batavia.
    • The positive case is in their 80s.
    • The newly positive individual was not on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • One of the previous positive cases has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Five of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • Orleans County received zero new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 124 positive cases.
    • Two of the previous positive community cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Seven of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
    • “We are reporting that an individual (under 65 years of age) who lived in The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center passed away. Due to privacy issues, we are not releasing further details about this individual. I would like to express my sincerest sympathy for these individuals’ family and friends.”

 

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

The facility breakdown is only showing those facilities from where we received a postive swab for COVID-19. Facilities will be added when and if there is a positive case of COVID-19. If a regulated facility from either of our counties is not listed, there are no positive cases of COVID-19 as of the release of this briefing. The local health departments do not have oversight with many regulated facilities, which may include nursing homes, correctional facilities, hospitals, etc.

• COVID-19 Serology Testing (SARS-CoV-2): Serology tests look for antibodies (proteins that fight off infections) in the blood to better understand how many COVID-19 infections have occurred. Provides a more complete estimate of how common COVID-19 is (or the incidence of infection) and is a guide to control measures, such as social distancing.
  • Forty-four residents of Orleans County had the serology test for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and four returned positive. A total of 336 residents of Genesee County had the serology test for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and 12 returned positive.
  • Serology tests are not used for diagnosis. These tests are more for research to help in the development of vaccines and in understanding the scale of the pandemic.
  • The tests look for the antibodies in the blood. If antibodies are found it means there has been a previous infection. It takes 1-2 weeks after the first symptoms appear for antibodies to develop in the body. Antibodies can take 2-3 days after infection to develop, so people should not get the antibody test too early or it may give false negative results. This is an aid in identifying individuals with an adaptive immune response to COVID-19, indicating recent or prior infection. There are also several different strains of coronavirus and the antibody may pick up a different coronavirus type other than the current pandemic novel strain, causing positive for coronavirus antibodies. Not everyone will develop an antibody response.
  • It is currently unknown if someone who has been infected with COVID-19 will be immune to the virus if exposed in the future.
  • Resources:

1. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/faqs-testing-sars-cov-2#serology;
2. https://www.idsociety.org/globalassets/idsa/public-health/covid-19/idsa-covid-19-antibody-testing-primer.pdf;
3. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/serology-surveillance/index.html.

• Mothers’ Day: As with any special holiday, it is important during COVID-19 we continue social distancing. This is not the time to be having barbecues, large family gatherings. Honor your Moms creatively by facetiming, sending them some special treats, calling on the phone, but if you don’t live in the same household honor them from a distance. Keep your Moms healthy and safe and stay 6 feet away. We don’t want to see a rise in positive cases because people didn’t heed social distancing.
• In order to un-PAUSE safely, we need to continue to be intentional about social distancing, properly wearing face coverings, handwashing/sanitizing and limiting time in public. As seen over the last week there have been daily increases in community spread cases of COVID-19. If we see a significant increase in community acquired positive cases it may hinder our ability to move forward and reopen our counties. It is up to each of us individually to adhere to the guidelines in place, this is about respecting others and their safety understanding as we protect others we are protecting ourselves.
  • Phased Plan to Reopen New York:  https://www.governor.ny.gov/programs/new-york-forward
    • Do No Harm and Strengthen Healthcare System – Based on CDC recommendations, regions must experience a 14-day decline in hospitalizations and deaths on a three-day rolling average. Regions with few COVID cases cannot exceed 15 new total cases or five new deaths on a three-day rolling average. A region must have fewer than two new COVID patients admitted per 100,000 residents per day.
    • Testing and Contact Tracing – Regions must implement a testing regimen that prioritizes symptomatic persons and individuals who came into contact with a symptomatic person, and conducts frequent tests of frontline and essential workers. Every region must have the capacity to conduct 30 diagnostic tests for every 1,000 residents per month.
    • Priority Industries for Reopening:
      • Phase One:  Construction; Manufacturing & wholesale supply chain; Select retail using curbside pickup only
      • Phase Two:  Professional services; Finance & Insurance; Retail; Administrative support; Real Estate & Rental Leasing
      • Phase Three:  Restaurants & Food Service; Hotels & Accommodations
      • Phase Four:  Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Education
• ROC COVID-19 Health Screener:  This symptom tracker for the Greater Rochester region is a scientific study collected aggregate date by zip code to track hot spots of COVID-19. The data will potentially show how the virus may be spreading, identify areas that may be at risk and determine how our efforts are working to slow the spread. You can participate by taking the daily survey whether you are having symptoms or are feeling healthy. It just takes a few seconds. To learn more go to:  https://www.roccovid.org/index.html
• New York State is seeking contact tracers. If you are interested in this position, click https://orleanscountyny.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/050620-Reopening-Guidance-and-Fact-Sheet-GO-Health-1.pdf here to apply to be a part of the NYS Contact Tracing team. This is a moment of crisis and New York needs our help as soon as possible.
• The Nursing Home hotline number is 833-249-8499 or click the link for the online form:  https://ag.ny.gov/nursinghomes
• Prepping for Reopening Our Region:  The Health Departments have developed a guide to use in developing business or organizations re-opening plans. Please click here for a reopening guidance and fact sheet in response to COVID-19 developed by the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. For further information on the NYS Plans, click here.
• Swabbing and antibody testing is becoming increasingly available in the WNY region. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your primary care provider and they will determine if testing is right for you. If the counties receive an increase in swabbing supplies and the protocol for testing is changed, we will notify the public. The Health Departments are not providing public swabbing due to lack of supplies. For more information on testing click here.
• There is still no cure or vaccination available for COVID-19. Be alert to scams or home remedies. Contact your primary care provider if you have any symptoms and follow his/her instructions.

Mental Health

• Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and having to socially distance yourself from someone you love can be difficult. Below are resources that can help you connect to a professional that can help you through these challenging times:
  • Care + Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 at 585-283-5200 or text "Talk" to 741741
  • New Yorkers can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling

Domestic Violence

• For New Yorkers in need of help or assistance, they can text 844-997-2121 or can go to the new confidential online site to reach a professional at www.opdv.ny.gov The new text program and confidential online service will make it easier for victims who are isolated with their abusers to get help. Both the text and online service are staffed 24/7 by the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Staff who are experts in the area of domestic violence.