Orleans has 1 new confirmed case of Covid-19, 3 more recoveries
Businesses urged to have plans in place for Phase 3 of reopening
Orleans County has one new confirmed case of Covid-19, a person in the 30s who lives in Yates, the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said this afternoon.
The new positive case was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
Orleans has now had 239 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Three more county residents have also recovered from the coronavirus, bringing the total recoveries to 83.
The Health Departments reported that 16 from Orleans are currently hospitalized with Covid-19.
In Genesee County, two more people tested positive for Covid-19, both are from Batavia. One is in the 30s and the other is in the 40s. One of the new positive cases was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
Genesee has also had five more people recover from Covid-19, bringing that total to 132. No one from Genesee is currently hospitalized with Covid-19, the Health Departments reported.
Paul Pettit, the public health director for the two counties, urged local residents to continue vigilance with social distancing and wearing a facial covering when in public around other people.
He thanked residents for their precautions to slow the spread of the virus. He said that is helping the county and Finger Lakes Region advance on a methodical march to reopening the economy.
If the region doesn’t see a significant increase in hospitalizations from Covid-19, Pettit said the county and region could advance to Phase 3 of businesses reopening. That could happen next Friday, but Pettit said that announcement with come from the governor’s office.
Cuomo last Friday announced businesses could move to Phase 2 of the reopening, but that announcement didn’t come until 1 in the afternoon.
Pettit urged businesses to have their plans in place for protecting employees and the public from Covid-19. Those plans should include keeping people 6 feet apart, wearing masks, sanitizing common areas, frequent cleaning and Plexiglass or other dividers between the public and employees.
The plans don’t need to be approved by the Health Department, but they need to be done to show businesses understand the guidelines and have implemented them. Pettit said the local health department can provide some assistance if businesses aren’t sure how to proceed.
