Whether you’re an owner of a business, executive director of a nonprofit organization, manager of a public service agency or pastor of a place of worship, if you don’t have a plan for reopening according to New York State COVID-19 guidelines, then now is the time to develop one.
That was one of the key messages conveyed by Genesee & Orleans Public Health Director Paul Pettit and Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell at a Zoom videoconference this afternoon.
The hour-long webinar, hosted by Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, attracted 185 people – many of whom are wondering what they need to do to get their workplace up and running again.
Both Pettit and Gsell emphasized the importance of having a plan in place that addresses physical distancing, protective equipment, cleaning and hygiene, communication, and screening – all of the bullet points on the NYS business reopening safety plan template (pdf).
Reading from the document, Pettit said that “this plan does not need to be submitted to a state agency for approval, but must be retained on the premise of the business and must be made available to the State of New York Department of Health, local health or safety authority in the event of an inspection.”
“We can’t give you any clarity of what that means beyond potentially if you have an issue, if we potentially trace back an outbreak or a cluster to a business or a location based on contact tracing, we’re probably going to be asking you to let us see your plan,” he continued. “How are you ensuring that you are protecting your employees (and how) you’re protecting your consumers if they came into the business?”
Gsell said the state government and health officials are trusting that all businesses and organizations follow the requirements listed and fill out the form.
“It’s scout’s honor that you put the plan together and then you have gone to the website and attested that you’ve done this and you have it on file at your plant location, your business location – whatever that may be,” he said. “The county, itself, is going to have to do this and we’re starting to do that already.”
He added that the template is for all entities, no exceptions.
“It does not leave anybody out … in terms of how they want us to plan and continue the protocol, and also recognize that at this point, the State of New York also doesn’t want to have hundreds of thousands of plans on file that they would probably not ever be able to get to,” he said.
The Genesee & Orleans Health Department also has drafted a document for business owners – a reopening guidance and fact sheet (pdf).
Pettit noted that the plan for reopening is being driven by the state and that Genesee (along with Orleans and Wyoming counties) is “tethered to our surrounding Finger Lakes Region counties” as the strategy calls for a regional approach.
“The governor has been very clear that his decision – the Empire State Development and his administration – has the final say on what happens here locally,” he said. “We do not have the flexibility here to create our own plan. We did try that route when we first found that we were able to start potentially opening on May 15th, we wanted to put together a more local plan for Genesee and Orleans county, but that was shot down … All of the metrics and all the data are going to be driven by what happens regionally.”
He then talked about the impact of the coronavirus in Genesee County, noting that: 165 people have tested positive; 1,785 tested negative; 15 are in isolation; 56 are in quarantine; three have died; and 95 have recovered.
Pettit mentioned that the health department recently “did break apart the community from regulated facilities (nursing homes, for example) and we did that because we wanted to make sure there was a clear delineation between what was happening in the community versus what was happening in these kind of captive audiences, these residential facilities.”
He said Genesee has experienced “very little” community spread; it’s mainly been driven by what’s going on in this regulated facility environments.”
While the exposure has been low thus far, Pettit said he hopes that a future spike doesn’t occur and derail the region’s progression from Phase One (starting tomorrow) through the other three phases.
Pettit said it is vital that people continue practicing social distancing and take other precautions.
“Our biggest concern on the public health side is we all of a sudden start to un-pause and see significant increases in spikes, the number of cases, the number of hospitalizations – the governor has been very clear that it will lead to the region being paused again,” he said. “We want to be able to move forward successfully and safely, and we want you guys to start to generate some income and revenue … in a safe, smart and strategic way.”
Other key points from the webinar:
-- Gsell said that each phase will have at least a two-week time frame – and possibly up to four weeks -- between them, during which an analysis of the seven metrics will take place. The outcome of the data assessment will determine whether a region moves ahead, stays in place or goes back on “pause.”
-- The state considers contract tracing as a determining factor that has kept some regions (including Western New York – Buffalo area) from advancing into Phase One, Gsell said.
“This is where the science comes in and where the state is going to continue to hold our feet to the fire with what we know about the people who we are dealing with and what is being reported to the State of New York and also to our local county health department,” he said.
-- NYS Executive Order 202.16 mandates that all essential businesses or entities, any employees who are present in the workplace shall be provided and shall wear face coverings when in direct contact with customers or members of the public. Businesses must provide, at their expense, such face coverings for their employees.
Pettit said if people can’t maintain six feet of separation, then they must wear a mask.
For more information, call ESD at 1-888-364-3065.
The webinar was presented by the Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Batavia Downtown Business Improvement District, Batavia Development Corporation, and Genesee County Economic Development Center.
