From Coach Jim Fazio: "Players and coaches from the Batavia varsity softball team participated in the Section V Softball Challenge.

"Previously high schools from Waterloo and Rush Henrietta came up with the idea of practicing social distancing by still being involved with their teams in a unique way with softball related skills and players' imaginations.

"Since Alexander High School and others did a fantastic job with their videos, this challenge took off and we thought it would be a great idea to join in and have some fun while practicing social distancing and playing safe."

Statement from Republican candidate Chris Jacobs on NY-27 District special election:

“My foremost concern is the health and safety of all New Yorkers in this difficult time," said NY-27 District Republican candidate Chris Jacobs about the upcoming special election.

"As we continue to deal with this national challenge, I urge everyone to stay safe and follow all the recommended guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will meet this challenge as we always have. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone.”

Video of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daily briefing for March 28, 2020.

Press release:

Governor Cuomo: "People come up with all of these interesting ideas, you know. Who's painting their house because they never had time to paint their house before. Who's working on a project that they never got to. Who's reading a book that they never got to do. Who's writing a book. A few people say I'm writing my journals, I'm writing my life story. You know, find a way. You have the advantage of time here.

"I'm not trying to say it's not a terrible circumstance, but even in a terrible circumstance, if you look hard enough, you can find the little rays, a few rays of light, and people are doing it and I think we all should."

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

"My gratuitous 2 cents, see if you can't find a silver lining in all of this. People say extraordinary things to me that I just pick up anecdotally. I was going for a walk with one of my daughters and Captain, Captain's my dog. People come up with all of these interesting ideas, you know.

"Who's painting their house because they never had time to paint their house before. Who's working on a project that they never got to. Who's reading a book that they never got to do. Who's writing a book. A few people say I'm writing my journals, I'm writing my life story. You know, find a way. You have the advantage of time here.

"And you have the advantage of time for communication. I've had conversations with my daughters, hours-long conversations, where it's just us, just us talking. No place to go. She doesn't have to go to work. She doesn't have to run out. And they're priceless, they are priceless. I'll never get the opportunity in life to do that again.

"You know, we're going to get through this, and they're going to go off and find a boyfriend and do whatever they do. I've had conversations with my mother, who can't leave the house, and she's in the house, and so we sort of take turns talking to Mom. And I talked to my mother for hours. And it's special. It's special.

"So, yes, it's terrible. And I'm not trying to say it's not a terrible circumstance, but even in a terrible circumstance, if you look hard enough, you can find the little rays, a few rays of light, and people are doing it and I think we all should."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that all elections in the state scheduled for April 28 -- village elections, the presidential primary, and the special elections -- will be held on the same day as congressional and legislative primaries in June.

This means the NY-27 special election will be held on the same day as party primaries for the NY-27.

This means the GOP's candidate for the NY-27, Chris Jacobs, will also be facing primary challenges from two or three other Republican candidates.  

The Democratic special election candidate is Nate McMurray. He has not specifically announced a candidacy in the primary nor have any other Democrats announced a primary campaign.

This is a developing story and we'll provide more information when available.

We're talking with Sarah Hinze, owner of Note Your Worth Music Therapy. We've offered free live stream interviews to local business owners and this is part of that series.

Press release:

From the three passed Congressional bills in response to the coronavirus emergency, and the FEMA Major Disaster Declaration, which was aggressively advocated for by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York State and state-funded agencies have already received, or will soon receive, at least $15.9 billion in direct federal aid.

New York can and should put these funds to work to fight the coronavirus public health emergency and to address its budget challenges.

CARES ACT/Coronavirus 3: $10.2 Billion

• State Relief Fund: $5.1B
• MTA: $3.8B

Education funding going directly to NYS:

• Education Stabilization Fund: $1.16B
• Child Care Community Grants: $162.4M

Coronavirus 2 Families First Legislation:

• FMAP: $5.2B ($6.7B in aid shared with NYC/counties that pay a share of Medicaid)

FEMA Disaster Declaration: $426 million

• New York State has obligated $426 million from the Disaster Relief Fund for COVID-19. Congress just appropriated $45 billion in new dollars for the DRF which will ensure that New York State gets billions in FEMA reimbursement for COVID-19.

TOTAL IN MARCH: $15.9B

$5.1 billion in state and local aid via State Relief Fund

Despite strong opposition from Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who pushed for no state & local aid, Sen. Schumer secured substantial support for New York and its largest municipalities. The CARES Act provides $7.5 billion in aid to New York governments, including $5.2 billion to the state, $1.5 billion to New York City, and proportional amounts to the largest counties. Secretary Mnuchin, on a 3/26 call with the nation’s governors, pledged to give maximum flexibility on the implementation of this legislation, and to allow for a broad range of expenses and rapid deployment of funds to states in need.

$3.8 billion to the MTA

The MTA is primarily funded via New York’s budget. Schumer fought massive GOP opposition to secure $25 billion in Federal Transit Administration formula funds and maximized New York’s share.

$5.2 billion in Emergency FMAP aid

On March 14, Congress passed the second coronavirus response legislation, which provided $6.7 billion in Emergency FMAP aid to New York State ($5.2 billion) and the counties and NYC ($1.5 billion), which share the Medicaid payment burden. The federal share of Medicaid payment was increased to 56.2 percent. There is no legal or procedural barrier to New York accepting these funds.

$1.16 billion in the Education Stabilization Fund and $162.4 million in Child Care Grants

These two streams of funding address critical needs at the state and local level. The Education Stabilization Fund includes primary, secondary and university levels.

MORE ON FMAP

As part of the Coronavirus 2/Families First legislation, House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi included a “Maintenance of Effort” (MOE) provision to guard against (mainly Republican) states that are hostile to Medicaid from receiving billions in aid and then cutting the Medicaid program.

The Cuomo administration has indicated it wishes to cut costs in its Medicaid program next year and has made a number of cost-cutting proposals via its Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), which must be approved, rejected or altered by the legislature in the budget.

Some of the MRT proposals, like provider cuts, do not run afoul of the MOE, others, like program cuts, may run afoul of it. It is important to note that New York has indicated it is voluntarily delaying the potential provider cuts.

To guarantee receiving the $5.2 billion in FMAP funds now, it could also choose to delay the proposed program cuts, until the eFMAP funds are dispersed, as part of the pending budget.

ADDITIONAL WAYS THE CARES ACT WILL HELP NEW YORK MEET FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

States Access to Treasury Lending: As part of the $450 billion that we have authorized for use by the Treasury to inject capital into our system and provide needed liquidity to many different industries, we insisted that one such vehicle specifically provide liquidity to state and local governments. The Secretary committed to including an explicit reference to the importance of such a facility in the text of the bill.

The bill states that the Secretary shall “seek the implementation of a program or facility… that provides liquidity to the financial system that supports lending to States and municipalities.” Therefore, we believe that the Fed is likely to establish a facility in which market participants that will provide lending to states and municipalities at low-rates and generous terms. The establishment of this facility will provide states with access to much needed capital and serve as another resource for them to help stabilize their budgets and unforeseen needs.

FEMA: New York State has obligated $426 million from the Disaster Relief Fund for COVID-19. C-3 just appropriated $45 billion in new dollars for the DRF which will ensure that New York State gets billions in reimbursement for COVID-19.

FEMA eligible expenses (partial):

• Management, control and reduction of immediate threats to public health and safety
• Emergency medical care
• Movement of supplies and persons
• Security and law enforcement
• Communications of general health and safety information to the public
• Search and rescue to locate and recover members of the population requiring assistance

Press release:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, current recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control, NYS social restrictions and the wellness and health of our community we regret to inform you that we have cancelled the Spring 2020 Gun Raffle at the rec hall.

We will not be issuing refunds for the main ticket sales and will still be holding a live drawing for those items listed on the main ticket.

The main ticket raffle will be done during a live feed on the Corfu Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page on March 28 at 2 p.m.

Items will be raffled by random draw subject to availability from Sugarbush Amory on that date.

1. We will draw a random main ticket number.
2. We will then attempt to contact winner by the phone number listed on the ticket and then the winner may choose the item.
3. If winner cannot be reached by phone at that time we will then do another separate draw to determine the prize.

**ALL WINNERS WILL HAVE TO CONTACT SUGARBUSH ARMORY TO ARRANGE AN APPOINTMENT FOR BACKGROUND CHECK AND TO PICK UP FIREARM.

We wish the circumstances were different and hope they will improve soon for everyone.

The members of the Corfu Rescue Hook & Ladder Co. #1 would like to THANK YOU for all your continued support. Please stay safe, healthy and we will see you at next year’s event.

If you have any questions please call the fire hall at 585-599-3618.

Press release:

The Alexander Fire Department has been monitoring the potential impact of the COVID-19 and is following the current recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control and the New York State Health Department. 

After thorough discussion and concern for our community members and our volunteers, the following decisions have been made regarding events that have been scheduled at our Recreation Hall:

• All Boy Scout, Cub Scout and Girl Scout activities have been cancelled until further notice.
• Spring Gun Raffle – March 28th, Saturday – This event for the public will not take place. However, there will be a drawing of the 15 ticket prizes at 7 o'clock tonight (March 28th) on Facebook Live. To access the link, go to our Facebook page “Alexander Firemen’s Recreation Hall.” We will also upload the ticket drawing to YouTube under “Alexander F.D. Spring Gun Raffle 2020.” 
• Breakfast with the Easter Bunny – March 29th, Sunday – Cancelled.

Supplies are dwindling for basic food items stocked at the Corfu Presbyterian Church food pantry, located at 63 Alleghany Road, which is operated in partnership with St. Maximilian Kolbe Roman Catholic Church.

"We have a lot of elderly people, who used to go out to restaurants, relying on us," said pantry coodinator Paula Trapani.

If you can help, they are especially in need of:

• Canned fruit and vegetables
• SOUP, noodle cups, Top Ramen
• Canned tuna
• Canned chicken
• Pasta
• Pasta sauces
• Canned tomato products, most assuredly ketchup
• Peanut butter
• Jelly and jam
• Canned juice
• Cereal and shelf-stable milk
• Pancake mix and syrup

Trapani said meal items that can be prepared quickly are needed, adding that cake mix and canned frosting, or brownie and muffin mix would be nice treats, too.

The pantry is also running low on basic hygiene supplies and toiletries like soap and shampoo.

To help families pass the time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pantry is also making room to stockpile puzzles, board games, hidden word search booklets and the like.

There will be someone at the church from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. Please leave items on the bench outside and someone will retrieve them.

If anyone has questions or needs to drop off items at another time, please contact Paula Trapani at (716) 423-1907.

One thing they do not need is frozen French fries.

"Our freezer is stuffed with bags of frozen French fries from a truck that caught fire last week, I believe on Route 5, and they were able to salvage quite a lot of French fries -- I'm not kidding," Trapani said, adding that the freezer at the St. Kolbe's also chock full of them.

So don't forget the ketchup, folks...

UPDATED at 1:46 a.m. Sunday, March 29: Forgot to include crackers; all kinds of crackers.

There are seven residents of Genesee County who are currently trying to recover from coronavirus -- three of them are hospitalized -- and none of them, according to the County Health Department, had contact with each other.

During a briefing, today, Paul Pettit, director of public health, acknowledged that that fact pattern indicates widespread community transmission in Western New York.

Of the seven cases, we don't know where any of the individuals contracted COVID-19, be it in Genesee County, a neighboring county, or elsewhere in New York State but what we do know is they didn't give it to each other.

That makes social distancing critically important in controlling the spread of the potentially fatal disease.

"We're all in this together and one of the things we are hearing is folks are not complying with social distancing," Pettit said. "We're hearing that folks are just out and about and not hearing the recommendations, the guidelines, and so, unfortunately, these extreme mitigation techniques may linger longer. The more adherent we are and the better we do at following these guidelines the sooner we can get out of this out of the way and get back to normal life."

Coronavirus is all around us.

Erie County: 219 total cases, 85 new in the past 24 hours.

• Livingston County, three total cases
• Monroe County, 160 total cases, 21 new
• Wyoming County, seven total cases.
• Orleans County, four total cases

In Genesee County, 17 people are under precautionary quarantine and 34 people are under mandatory quarantine.

Not all of the people under quarantine were placed there because they had local contact with a positive case. Some of them had contact with a person in another county.

In New York, there are now 44,635 positive cases and 6,481. That's more confirmed cases in New York than any country in the world.

The countries that have had the most success in battling coronavirus -- such as Germany and South Korea -- have used aggressive contract tracing, social isolation, and testing.

Health workers in our county are working hard, Pettit said, to identify contacts positive cases had with other people. If any of those people were in a large group of people -- such as in a story or at an event -- that information would be released. If that information isn't released -- and it hasn't been -- Pettit said, that indicates the people who tested positive had more one-on-one contacts than any large-group contact.

At least for the period of symptoms that is included in the contract tracing protocol.

Pettit said local staff is working long hours on contact tracing and individuals who have come within six feet of a known positive case are being placed under mandatory quarantine.

However, the department is following state guidelines and only looking for contacts with positive patients going back to the first day of symptoms. A person who contracts COVID-19 can be infectious for days, if not two weeks, before becoming symptomatic.

Pettit's advice in this situation: act as if you've been infected or people around you are infected. People on social media worry too much about where a person who has tested positive might live or where they might have been. That's ignoring the fact that you can be exposed to COVID-19 anywhere at any time.

"We do have community spread in both Orleans and Genesee counties, which means you can literally get it from anywhere," Pettit said. "It's not important to know exactly where a person (who tests positive) is from. We all move around. It's just important to maintain the six-foot separation and the other recommendations that are out there."

If there is a major increase in hospitalized cases, United Memorial Medical Center is ready, said Dan Ireland, the hospital's CEO.

The hospital has canceled elective surgeries, freed up bed space, implemented telehealth calls where possible, established a drive-thru area for triage, identified areas to create bed space, and has plans phases one, two, and three of increases in capacity if needed.

The hospital can currently handle about 80 patients for COVID-19 treatment.

Most hospitalized patients, Ireland indicated, won't need a "negative pressure" rooms, which is a room to a person who is coughing and sneezing a lot, which means they are spraying an aerosol of COVID-19 into the room, and the building, they're in. And only a minority of hospitalized patients will have such difficulty breathing that they will need a ventilator.

If needed for a phase two surge expansion, the hospital could add 45 beds for patients.

Right now, the hospital could expand to about 12 negative pressure rooms.

"That could go as high as fifteen with our current supply of equipment," Ireland said. "So it is a moving target because if we can get more negative pressure fans with the filters on than we can convert rooms as we need to."

As for ventilators -- the most important piece of equipment needed to save the lives of the most seriously ill patients -- there are currently seven ventilators for more serious cases available and ten for less serious cases plus the hospital has access to two more if needed, plus there are five or six anesthesiology units that can be converted to ventilators if needed.

Multiple readers of The Batavian have asked about sewing homemade masks to distribute.

For protective measures for health care personal, those masks will be inadequate, both Pettit and Ireland indicated. Even N95 masks, which some local people and companies might have in reserve, might not meet medical needs because of the need for custom fitting.

However, that doesn't mean donations aren't appreciated. Standards may change and supplies run low; and, as for the rest of us wearing masks, Pettit didn't rule that out but said the best course of action remains to follow the protocols for staying at home as much as possible and social distancing.

"We've got to be careful with masks," Pettit said. "Having a mask on or any barrier is better than none ... (but) the recommendation is still not to be walking around and wearing masks. The recommendation is to stay home, help mitigate, keep six feet away from people, and the mask and wearing them is not going to be as vital."

In December, Andy and Laura Pedro purchased Blondies Sip-N-Dip on East Main Street Road in Batavia. Today, they officially opened for the spring, summer, and fall seasons.

Because of social distancing restrictions, right now, they can't serve walk-in customers but they have opened a walk-up window and they can use that window to service drive-thru customers.

"Not ideal," said Andy, "but we'll make it work."

Scheduled for 4 p.m.: Genesee County's COVID-19 Briefing for March 27, 2020

UPDATE: Paul Pettit, health director, just announced there are now seven positive cases in Genesee County, which means in the past 24 hours, there are three additional people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Three people are hospitalized. Yesterday, there were two.

UPDATE: Here's the written briefing from the Department of Health.

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received three new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of seven positive cases;
  • One over the age of 65 residing in central Genesee County;
  • One over the age of 65 residing in central Genesee County;
  • One person under the age of 65 residing in Western Genesee County;
  • Currently three of the seven positive cases under mandatory isolation are in the hospital;
  • None of the new positive cases were under precautionary or mandatory quarantine when they became symptomatic; and are not believed to be connected.
• For Orleans: No new positive cases have been reported today.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all the new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms becomes 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 we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.

Cumulative Data

• To Date:Genesee County has received 75 negative test results and Orleans County has received 74 negative test results for COVID-19. These negative tests give us a good indicator of what’s going on in our community. As discussed before, Flu continues to be prevalent with eight in Orleans and 22 in Genesee for the week ending 3/14. This data continues to show a high number of respiratory illness in our counties is not COVID-19
• Orleans County: Six people are under precautionary quarantine, eight people are under mandatory quarantine, and four people are under mandatory isolation, one of whom is hospitalized and three are recovering at home (one out of county).
• Genesee County: 17 people are under precautionary quarantine, 34 people are under mandatory quarantine, and four people are recovering under mandatory isolation at home and three people are under mandatory isolation and are hospitalized.
• Healthcare providers are advising patients undergoing swabbing that are symptomatic (based on availability and screening for high-risk) for COVID-19 to self-isolate until test results are received and COVID-19 is ruled out. Follow your healthcare provider’s advice.
• Currently, NYS clearance protocol for discontinuation of mandatory isolation for persons with confirmed COVID-19 is the following: it has been at least seven days since the initial positive test for COVID-19, at least three days without fever and no use of fever-reducing medication, improvement in the signs and symptoms of the illness and two negative swabs at least 24 hours apart. Swabbing through the Health Departments is warranted as part of our quarantine/isolation protocol for those who become symptomatic.We are not providing community testing at this time. We will be announcing further information on this as local capacity increases.
• Please remain home if ill, with all of the directives regarding social distancing that are still be in place, especially if a person has a negative COVID-19 result it is important to limit physical contact. Flu and COVID-19 are still transmittable and people should continue to remain home and limiting contact with others. Do not be afraid of people because they may be coughing or sneezing, they may have allergies, but continue to keep your distance (at least 6 feet).
• Respect / Social Responsibility / Fear mongering / Consequences – A reminder Genesee and Orleans Counties are small counties where just about everyone "knows your name," with that in mind the Health Departments are mandated to adhere to HIPAA regulations, therefore, we are not releasing potential identifying information of anyone who is under our care.
  • If during contact tracing there is an issue of missing potential contacts we will provide locations. Not everyone who coughs or sneezes has a respiratory virus. People need to be respectful of the process and the guidance surrounding social distancing. COVID-19 is now community transmissible, therefore people need to take social distancing seriously.
  • There are consequences for not adhering to the directives. Noncompliance may prolong the spread of COVID-19 as well as increasing the spread which can overwhelm our healthcare systems.
  • Sticking to the basics, limiting exposure to the public, frequent handwashing, staying home if ill with any respiratory illness, keeping 6 feet distance from other people and sharing creative ideas to keep in touch with family and friends are what we need. 
  • Talking about who has or hasn’t been tested, is sick or sharing rumors about anything COVID-19 is increasing anxiety in many people. Be respectful and stay home as much as possible. It is safe to go outside or for a ride, but be mindful to keep at least 6’ distance between other people.

OPERATIONAL UPDATES

• Community Spread: Locations of positive cases are not indicative (telling) of where potential exposures can occur. It is not vital to know locations as the virus is considered to be everywhere. That is why we encourage everyone to continue with social distancing, frequent handwashing, proper cough/sneeze hygiene and frequent disinfecting of frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Medical Concerns: If you feel you may have COVID-19, call your primary care provider or healthcare facility ahead of time. DO NOT GO DIRECTLY THERE, CALL AHEAD TO GET GUIDANCE. Swabbing will be based on those who are in higher-risk categories – elderly and immune-compromised and those with underlying health issues.
  • Swab sample results are coming back slower than expected. With more testing, we expect this will continue. Whenever anyone is swabbed for potential COVID-19, self-isolation is advised until the test result is received.
• Snowbirds are returning to our counties: They may have returned from areas not hit as hard as New York, may have been exposed while out of state, and/or are members of the higher-risk population (over 65 / underlying health issues) we encourage you to self-isolate and monitor your health. 
  • If you become symptomatic, call your healthcare provider for guidance.
  • Some may be concerned about exposure when going for supplies and prescription refills – many stores and pharmacies are providing special hours for seniors and people with underlying healthcare issues. There are also several stores/restaurants that provide curbside pick-up and delivery services call ahead and ask.
  • Check-in with family and friends and your social networks via phone or electronic means often to limit loneliness.
• Toilet Paper: A reminder that flushing non-traditional toilet paper, such as tissues, paper towels, baby wipes and more will more than likely cause plumbing issues. On-site septic systems and public sewers are not built to handle these types of materials and will cause problems. If you are using nontraditional products as toilet paper, they are to be thrown in the trash receptacles.

FRAUD ALERT

• At this time there are no FDA-approved drugs or treatments for COVID-19.
• There are also no over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. If you get an email, phone call, offer by mail or other solicitation for these scams, hang up and ignore them.
• This is a very important warning to reinforce for every County resident.
• The best medical advice for you comes from your healthcare provider.

NEW YORK STATE CASES / RESTRICTIONS / GUIDANCE

• Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today at his 11:30 a.m. press conference there are 16,272 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 44,635 positive cases in New York State.
• 6,481 (15 percent) COVID-19 patients are hospitalized.
• In today’s Governor’s briefing, he stated schools are to remain closed for another two weeks and will be reassessed then. Locally our schools are monitoring the local impact and making decisions on a week-by-week basis as to when schools will reopen. Continue to follow your local school guidance.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! You have the right to a safe workplace. Federal laws state that your employer must provide a work area with no known health or safety hazards. You also have the right to: 

Press release:

Empire Access announced today that the company is providing more than 25 TV channels at no additional charge to their TV customers. Empire TV customers who do not currently subscribe to select channels will have access for 30 days at no additional cost.

“Our company is pleased to announce this 30-day free preview," said Frank Pilling, vice president of Empire Access. "We understand many families are spending more time indoors due to the impact of the coronavirus, and it’s important to offer our customers extra TV programming options during this difficult time."

As part of the 30-day free preview, Empire Access is giving current TV cutomers access to channels that may not currently be included in their subscription. Free preview channels include:

SHOWTIME® -- Enjoy a free trial of premium channels from March 27 – April 25, complements of Showtime and Empire Access.

• On SHOWTIME® watch the final season of Homeland, plus other critically acclaimed original series like Billions® and Shameless.
• Get 30 days of Hallmark, Travel, DIY Network, Disney Junior, Disney XD, HDNET Movies, and many more.

Beginning today, Empire Access TV customers will automatically have access to the additional channels. For a complete list of the 30-day free preview channels, visit our website at www.empireaccess.com/freepreview or call our office at 1-800-338-3300.

New York has delayed its plastic bag ban because of the coronavirus crisis until May 15 and Tops in Batavia is allowing customers the option of plastic bags, a spokeswoman for the grocery store chain said.

"Tops is temporarily not enforcing (the plastic bag ban) in order to help with sanitation concerns surrounding reusable bags and COVID-19," Kathleen A. Sautter said. "If a customer brings in a reusable bag and does not bag their own groceries themselves, the cashier will then bag their groceries in either a plastic or paper bag free of charge. This procedure will be rolled out at all of our stores until further notice."

UPDATE: This morning (March 27), Tops spokeswoman Kathleen A. Sautter corrected the information she provided Friday to say that paper bags will cost customers 5 cents each, but plastic will be free.

Press release:

More than 80,500 initial Unemployment Insurance claims were filed last week, and overall claims increased by more than 520 percent over the past year, according to statistics released Thursday (March 26) by the New York State Department of Labor.

The claims data for New York State for the week ending March 21 --  the first week in which claims were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic -- show an increase by a minimum of 284 percent in each of New York’s 10 labor market regions.

Additional information about New York State’s UI claims, including regional and industry, will be forthcoming.

From Monday, March 16 to Saturday, March 21, the New York State Department of Labor received more than 1,734,100 total calls and over 2,270,300 web hits.

DOL has taken a number of steps to address this unprecedented increase in call volume and web traffic, including implementing a new, more efficient filing system based on the first letter of the applicant's last name (alphabetical order):

A  - F : Monday
G – N : Tuesday
O – Z : Wednesday
Missed your day: Thursday through Saturday

The New York State Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that every New Yorker who is entitled to UI benefits will receive all benefits due. New Yorkers seeking to file UI claims can visit labor.ny.gov or call the Telephone Claim Center at 1-888-783-1370.

Press release:

Nate McMurray, Democratic congressional candidate in the April 28th Special Election in NY-27, called on Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature to reschedule the April 28th Special Election due to the coronavirus crisis and its growing threat to Western New Yorkers.

McMurray criticized opponent Chris Jacobs’ insistence to hold the upcoming election despite significant public health risk and election commission boards that have limited time and resources.

“We are in a war right now to preserve public health, at a war with this virus," McMurray said. "Our election commissioners and local leaders are unified in calling for a delay in the Special Election. I fought for this seat for over three years, I know how important it is that NY-27 gets representation.

"My opponent doesn’t seem to get the risk, nothing is more important than the health of our people. Jacobs’ push to move forward is both selfish and reckless. Why is Jacobs advocating for the same April 28 election date that the Republican Party originally sued to prevent?He is facing a heated primary in June and restricting the voice of the people on April 28th will benefit him.

"His concern should not be his political ambitions but the health and well-being of the people of Western New York. This is the same man who voted against paying victims of the coronavirus; he voted against sick leave. His uncle's business Delaware North, which funds his campaign, embarrassed Western New York this week by putting thousands of employees on leave without pay and creating a backlash from Buffalo to Boston.

"The Jacobs family are the only NHL franchise owners not to pay its employees benefits during this pandemic. These hardworking employees deserve more."

Earlier this week, the New York State Elections Commissioners’ Association called for immediate action by the Governor and New York State Legislature to protect the electoral process during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association, a bipartisan good government group that includes election commissioners from across the state, cited critical shortages of inspectors and polling places due to the ongoing health crisis.

There are 15,000 coronavirus cases in New York State, a number that is expected to peak in 14 to 21 days and accounts for 5 percent of the worldwide total. Since Sunday, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations has doubled and cases in the ICU have risen 82 percent.

A two-vehicle collision with minor injuries is reported in front of Miss Batavia Diner at 566 E. Main St. in the city. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.