From Rochester Regional Health Chief Medical Officer Robert Mayo, M.D.

“As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, Rochester Regional Health joins leading health systems around the world to proactively reschedule elective surgeries at all RRH facilities beginning Monday, March 16 and continuing through March 29. This time frame may change as we monitor developments surrounding COVID-19.

"Our decision, made in lockstep with our physician leaders across the health system, was guided by the recommendations of the American College of Surgeons and the United States Surgeon General. Patients are being contacted to reschedule their procedures to a later date. We are making every effort to make this rescheduling process as convenient for our patients as possible.

"This is one of many safeguards Rochester Regional Health is implementing in our ongoing effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community and to protect the health and safety of our team members and our patients."

Elba Volunteer Fire Department has canceled Bingo until further notice.

The Great Batavia Train Show scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, at the Richard C. Call Arena at Genesee Community College has been canceled due to coronavirus restrictions intended to reduce crowds and the spread of the virus.

The fall show is scheduled at the venue on Sunday, Nov. 15.

For information about table availability for the fall show, contact the Genesee Society of Model Engineers:   bataviatrainshow@gsme.org

Visit their website here.

This is our first live stream news interview. We're talking with Batavia Blue Devils Head Coach Brennan Briggs about the team's effort to to help the community by delivering groceries to those who need assistance while maintaining social distancing. 

If the stream isn't working, click here.

District announcement:

We will offer FREE breakfast/lunch meals to all students Pre K-12 starting 3/17 until further notice!‬ Click for more information about pickup.

‪Meals can be picked up at the Wolcott Street School's main entrance for outdoor pickup Mon-Fri between 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.‬

‪We encourage our families to take advantage!‬

Press release:

In response to the State of Emergency called by Genesee County officials and the closure of Genesee County schools, The Liberty Center for Youth will be closed until further notice.

The City of Batavia will continue to take all reasonable precautions to keep City employees, residents, and students safe from contracting and spreading the coronavirus. 

• Please continue to follow social distancing techniques;
• Stay home if you are ill;
• Wash your hands with soap and water frequently;
• Above all, remain calm.

All official updates on coronavirus will continue to come from the Genesee County Health Department and you can stay up to date by visiting the County’s website.

Press release:

Following State of Emergency declarations this weekend in every county served by the Regional Transit Service, and confirmation of the second case of coronavirus in Monroe County, RTS released the following information today.

“Based on conversations over the past few days with Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Michael Mendoza, RTS will continue providing service based on our normal schedule,” said RTS CEO Bill Carpenter. “Any future decisions we make regarding RTS service will be based on science, facts, and guidance from Governor Andrew Cuomo, the NYS Department of Health, County Executive Bello, and Dr. Mendoza.”

Preventive Measures:

To help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, RTS has taken the following steps:

Bus & Facility Cleaning:

• Buses are cleaned every day and detail cleaned with disinfecting wipes according to guidance from the NYS Department of Health.
• The RTS Transit Center is being cleaned and wiped down three times a day.

Focus on Prevention:

According to Dr. Mendoza and local health experts, preparation is a continuous process and the best way to help prevent the spread of the virus is to follow these tips:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol;
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash;
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes;
• Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces, and;
• Stay home when you are sick.

Contingency Plan:

If the virus spreads and leads to RTS needing to reduce service, we will do so in a way that is responsible and easy to understand. We have a plan in place and are ready to implement it if needed. To be clear, RTS is not implementing a service reduction at this time.

Bus Pass Information:

Rochester City School District (RCSD) Students:

Due to school closures, the bus passes students use have been temporarily deactivated. RTS is in close contact with County Executive Bello, Mayor Warren, Dr. Mendoza, and RCSD Superintendent Terry Dade, and the decision to activate the passes again will be made in coordination with them and at the appropriate time.

Our top priority is to ensure customers and employees stay healthy and safe. We are sharing this information with state and community leaders, employees and customers to ensure everyone understands what our plan is and what will drive the decisions we make. The public can help by following the advice of health experts and prevention tips such as staying home and avoiding public places when sick.

When updated information is available, it will be posted to the RTS website. 

Carpenter added: “We at RTS pride ourselves on providing high quality and reliable public transportation each and every day. Because of the trying circumstances under which the entire community is living, our mission is ever more challenging. In order to best serve you, we ask that you prioritize the reasons for your transit trips. RTS will serve every customer it can but we ask that you consider taking medical and other essential trips before any others. By working together we will get through this.”

For all other information, visit www.myRTS.com.

Press release:

In an effort to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus (coronavirus) the following precautions will be implemented at the City of Batavia Police Department, effective immediately:

• Police Headquarters located at 10 W. Main St. will remain locked at all times. Anyone responding to the police station can utilize the phone in the vestibule, which will contact our dispatch center at all times.
• If you are in need of a copy of a report please contact our Records Clerk at 585-345-6303 before responding to the Station, you will be given directions on how to proceed with your request at that time.
• If you need to report a crime that has already occurred or simply want to speak with an officer, we ask that you contact our dispatch center at 585-345-6350. The dispatchers will obtain your information and an officer will be in contact with you as soon as possible.
• If you have an emergency call 9-1-1 immediately and officers will be dispatched to you.
• We ask that if you can do so to please meet the officers outside and speak with them rather than the officers coming into your home.
• Officers will be practicing “social distancing” techniques as advised by the County’s Health Department.

These measures are to ensure that we can adequately respond to emergencies and to help safeguard both the public and the police officers from accidental exposure to the virus. Please see the Genesee County Public Health Department website for additional information about the COVID-19 virus.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these difficult days together. Rest assured the City of Batavia; the Police Department and its employees are ready to aid in any way possible to ensure that our community remains safe at all times.

Press release:

Dear Batavia Blue Devils' Community,

When I started my tenure as your Superintendent of Schools I never thought that within my first two months we would be dealing with a pandemic and being forced to close schools until further notice. These are definitely new and constantly evolving times for our students, families, staff, community, and nation. Please know that the decision to close schools is never an easy one as our schools are the support and gateway to resources for our kids and families.

Please know that we're working closely with public health experts and while we don't have a confirmed case in Genesee County as of yet – a State of Emergency was declared for our region last night. We believe with proper healthy habits and social distancing that many of us remain at low risk for contracting COVID-19.

What is social distancing you might ask? It is the practice of reducing close contact between people to slow the spread of infections or diseases. Social distancing measures include limiting large groups of people coming together, closing buildings and canceling events.

Therefore, the guidance is that if we close schools, we will be able to slow down a community spread and assist our public health system in being able to test, treat and slow down the spread of COVID-19.

The BCSD Leadership Team and I met today, and we have developed the following Closure Plan that will be in place effective Monday, March 16, 2020. Phase One of the plan focuses primarily on food distribution, instructional resources, staff reporting, and facility access.

Closure Plan: Phase One

·         Food Distribution: “Grab and Go” breakfast and lunch will be available for students and family members under the age of 18, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., Monday through Friday at the front entrances of Batavia High School, Batavia Middle School, John Kennedy Intermediate School, Jackson Primary School, and Robert Morris. We are also currently working with community partners and agencies on providing late afternoon/ evening meal options.

·         Instructional Resources: Teachers have prepared instructional lessons and activities for students to stay engaged with schoolwork while school is not in session. Please visit the following link to access your school’s Closure Resources: https://www.bataviacsd.org/Page/7546

·         Staff Reporting: All essential staff will report to allow us to answer school phones, clean buildings, distribute meals and support any questions or concerns.

·         Facility and Building Access: Teachers and High School students will be afforded an opportunity on Monday, March 16^th to come in and pick up any personal items or classroom materials they will need during this closure period. Specific communication regarding this opportunity will come directly from school Principals.

The district has also created a COVID-19 webpage that will list a variety of resources and information on our district website. I would encourage you to check the website and our Batavia City Schools Facebook page regularly for ongoing updates.

Please be assured that the Batavia City School District will continue to act out of an abundance of caution to protect everyone’s health and well-being. We will monitor our Closure Plan on a weekly basis and look to make necessary adjustments as needed to support our students, families and staff.

I know we will get through this together!

WE are BATAVIA!!! #BetterTogetherBatavia

Sincerely,

Anibal Soler Jr.
Superintendent
Batavia City Schools

Here's a collection of informative and useful links related to Novel Coronavirus, aka COVID-19.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control

National Institute of Health

New York Department of Health

Genesee County Health Department

Rochester Regional Health/UMMC

Video: Exponential growth and epidemics

Medium: Social Distancing: This is Not a Snow Day

Scientific America: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: How Far Have We Come?

Science Magazine: Why do dozens of diseases wax and wane with the seasons—and will COVID-19?

Video: Joe Rogan interview with Infectious Disease Expert Michael Osterholm

Medium: Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now

The Atlantic: The Extraordinary Decisions Facing Italian Doctors

ProPublica: This Coronavirus Is Unlike Anything in Our Lifetime, and We Have to Stop Comparing It to the Flu

Flatten the Curve

Batavia First Presbyterian Church is one of the churches in Genesee County that canceled in-person Sunday services today. This morning, Pastor Roula Alkhouri used Facebook Live to conduct an online service for the church community. Last night, she recorded the video message above and invited us to share it.

Press release:

St. Paul Lutheran Church of Batavia is closed for church services and all events until further notice. The Leadership Team will expect to meet as planned on Monday.

St. Paul school has also canceled classes.

Press release:

“Over the past week, COVID-19 has evolved rapidly. While Genesee County has no confirmed cases, there are confirmed cases in neighboring counties and increased local testing. I believe it is inevitable we will see cases here in Genesee County,” said Rochelle Stein, chair of the Genesee County Legislature.

“With this in mind and after discussion with Paul Pettit, director of the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, I am declaring a state of emergency for Genesee County. This declaration allows us to procure goods and services as well as required and available assistance to municipalities and school districts. I am recommending that all schools in Genesee County close to students effective immediately for an undetermined amount of time.”

“We want to remind people the risk in our community still remains relatively low and these decisions are based on the need to slow transmission in our communities,” Pettit said. “Through ongoing discussions with all 10 school districts and county administration, this unified decision is based on the increased activity in our county and has led to these preventive measures.”

A statement from Kevin MacDonald, district superintendent of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership: “In collaboration with the New York State and local Departments of Health, the component districts of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership will be closed to students effective Monday, March 16, 2020 until further notice. Component districts will be sharing messages to their respective communities regarding details of their closures. We ask all our community members to take care of each other as we navigate this public health matter.”

Batavia Downs, like other public facilities across the state in the wake of COVID-19, is complying with new state directives on reduced capacity and social distancing, Western OTB CEO Henry Wojtaszek said this evening.

The Batavian contacted Wojtaszek in part because several people over the past day have expressed concern to us that Batavia Downs was exempt from the new rules.

The directive from the NYS Department of Health requires bars and restaurants to restrict occupancy to 50 percent of normal capacity (PDF).

The directive specifically mentions gaming facilities and Wojtaszek said Western OTB has also received guidance from the state's gaming commission.

"We're operating in accordance with state guidance," Wojtaszek said. "We're trying to create a safe environment, keep a safe social distance between customers, and keep everybody as safe as possible."

Each room of the facility will maintain an occupancy rate of no more than 50 percent of capacity, with security guards at the entrance of each, maintaining a count, Wojtaszek said. That applies to each restaurant inside Batavia Downs as well as each bar and the gaming rooms. 

Batavia Downs will also be limited to no more than 500 customers inside the entire facility at any one time, he said, though occupants of the hotel will not count against that number.

Chairs have been removed between every other VTL (slot) machine to provide extra distance between customers.

The new state rules requiring facilities to operate at 50 percent of capacity also prohibits gatherings of 500 people or more and planned gatherings of fewer people, organizers must reduce the size of the crowd.

The new directive applies to:

• Auditoriums,
• Concerts,
• Conferences,
• Sporting events,
• Restaurants,
• Gaming establishments,
• Physical fitness centers,
• Theaters.

Businesses and facilities that can maintain safe social distancing can apply for an exemption to the 50-percent capacity rule.

Signs must also be posted directing anybody who is sick or becomes sick to either not enter or leave. Staff must be alerted and trained to spot people displaying symptoms of coronavirus.

"Like everybody else, we're concerned with public safety and we think it's a fair assessment to follow the guidance given to us by the state and the gaming commission," Wojtaszek said. "Certainly, we'll have fewer people at our facility but in the scheme of things, it's the right thing to do for public health and we're happy to comply."

Photo: File photo.

Press release:

In an effort to keep New Yorkers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed an executive order temporarily modifying election procedures to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The executive order suspends the candidate petitioning process — effective 5 p.m. on Tuesday — for the June primaries for Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and Judicial races. 

The executive order also modifies the signature requirements for ballot access; candidates will only need to collect 30 percent of the statutory threshold. For Congress, candidates would need 375 signatures rather than 1,250. For State Senate, candidates would need 300 signatures rather than 1,000. For Assembly, candidates would only need 150 signatures rather than 500.

The executive order also modifies deadlines and procedures to better allow New Yorkers to vote absentee for the Queens Borough President special election on March 24. It extends the current deadline to register to vote absentee to March 23, the day before the special election. Absentee votes must be postmarked or delivered in person up until the day of the election on March 24.  

"Public health experts have been clear that one of the most common ways to communicate COVID-19 is through direct person-to-person contact, and we are doing everything in our immediate power to reduce unnecessary interactions," Governor Cuomo said. "This executive order modifies the election process in a way that both protects public health and ensures the democratic process remains healthy and strong regardless of the ongoing pandemic."

Press release:

National Grid has temporarily suspended collections-related activities, including service disconnections, to lessen any financial hardship the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our customers.

The decision is part of the company’s pandemic preparedness plan, which is designed to mitigate the impact the virus has on our customers, our workforce and our ability to deliver safe, reliable electricity and natural gas to our customers.

“We recognize that this pandemic has brought many challenges for our customers and we want to do our part to lessen any financial impact they may face as the result of the outbreak,” said Badar Khan, National Grid’s interim U.S. president. “We are committed to our customers’ well-being during this difficult time.”

The company’s decision to temporarily suspend service terminations and collections-related activities is effective immediately.  

The company also has implemented the following employee-related actions, which will remain in place as we continue to closely monitor the pandemic:

• Limiting external meeting attendance and external visitors at National Grid facilities to operationally critical activities that are required to deliver gas and electricity to our customers;
• Restricting travel between National Grid office locations, except for operationally critical activities;
• Stopping all international business-related travel;
• Elevating the level of cleaning and disinfecting at all company facilities.

“Ensuring the health and safety of our employees and customers is our number one priority,” Khan said. “We have a comprehensive emergency response plan in place to keep the lights on and the gas flowing for our customers.

"Our pandemic team is meeting daily and we’re closely monitoring all developments associated with this evolving and complex virus.”

Khan noted that the company also is sharing its preparedness plans with regulators, federal, state and local officials, emergency response organizations, customers and other key stakeholders.

“We will continue to closely monitor this situation, review and adjust our policies and ways of working as necessary, and will keep the lines of communications open with our employees, customers and all stakeholders,” he said.

Batavia Middle School hosted a Health and Wellness Day for students at the school yesterday. The event was the brainchild of Assistant Principal Brian Sutton.

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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: 

Sheriff William Sheron introduced the department's new police dog, "Rayzor," and his handler, Deputy James Stack, at the Genesee County Jail yesterday.

Stack and Rayzor begin training on Monday and should be ready for road patrol in June.

Rayzor is named after Ray Thompson, a corrections officer who died while on duty in 2002.  He is the brother of retired deputy, and former K-9 handler, Brian Thompson.