Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) attends press conference with his colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to call for a review of the state’s COVID response.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) joined his colleagues in the state Assembly to call for an independent and public review of the state’s COVID response. On March 7, 2020, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, shutting New York down for over a year, and exactly four years ago on March 25, 2020, Cuomo made the unthinkable decision to force COVID-positive patients into nursing homes.
During the pandemic, roughly 80,000 New Yorkers died while families and local businesses struggled to make ends meet and keep the lights on. In May of 2022, Gov. Hochul called for a multimillion-dollar study of the state’s pandemic response. Nearly two years later, no due date has been announced and New Yorkers are still left to wonder why their government failed them.
This proposed independent study will bring clarity and closure to those who suffered and lost loved ones in the pandemic while holding officials accountable for their actions.
“New Yorkers have suffered through unconstitutional lockdowns, mandates, and unscientific guidelines. Now is the time for answers,” said Hawley. “Gov. Cuomo’s reckless policies put countless people in harm's way and in many cases led to the tragic loss of lives. Nursing homes were forced to take in COVID-positive patients and hard-working communities were given curfews and told to stay home while their kids lost valuable time in the classroom. No number of independent reviews can reverse the pain and suffering New Yorkers experienced during that time, but it is our duty to be open and transparent with the public. It’s time for New Yorkers to learn the truth so we will not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Assemblyman Steve Hawley represents the 139th Assembly District, which includes parts of Erie, Genesee, Monroe and Orleans counties. For more information, please visit his official website.
While some areas in New York are seeing an uptick in COVID cases — enough to warrant stricter masking policies — that hasn’t been the case in Genesee County so far, Genesee and Rochester Regional Health officials say.
Two Upstate Medical hospitals recently reported revised policies to reinstate mandatory masking for all staff, visitors and patients in clinical areas of the hospitals’ spaces, and masking was also strongly encouraged for non-clinical areas as well, according to news reports.
Genesee Orleans (GO) Health’s Public Information Officer Kaitlin Pettine said that there’s been an increase in COVID cases in the second week of August, but there has not been any new masking policy considered.
Her agency is reflecting the recommendations set forth by the state Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at this time, even though “medical centers/systems can also determine their protocols at their own discretion.”
"For the week of August 9 to 15, Genesee County had 10 new cases,” Pettine said. “As expected, we are seeing new strains of COVID. Each strain will present with varying levels of transmissibility and severity. We will continue to monitor activity in our communities and provide recommendations as indicated."
Rochester Regional Health is seeing some increase in COVID inpatient admissions, but the number is considered “rather small,” communications specialist Cristina Domingues Umbrino said.
“We are not considering reinstituting the mask mandate at this time,” she said. “Some restrictions remain in high-risk areas.”
