State will provide free Covid rapid tests to nursing homes
Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Department of Health will allow visitation of residents in nursing home facilities in accordance with CMS and CDC guidelines.
The Department of Health recommends that visitors take a rapid test before entry into the facility, and DOH will provide rapid tests to nursing homes at no cost. Guidance on visitations will be available beginning Monday, February 22.
The Governor also announced that New York City indoor dining can expand to 35 percent capacity next Friday, February 26. The reopening is subject to strict state guidance and aligns with New Jersey’s 35 percent limit.
Covid-19 hospitalizations dropped to 6,155, the lowest level since December 17. The 7-day average positivity rate has declined for 42 straight days.
“One of the most devastating aspects of this virus has been how it separated families from their loved ones, making an already difficult situation even harder to bear,” Cuomo said. “Thanks to the dedication of New Yorkers, we’re now at a point where we can begin to resume nursing home visitations under strict guidelines to protect the health and safety of residents. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, but we are not out of the woods yet.”
Courtesy of DEC: The yellow areas are to be remediated.
MIDDLEPORT – The state Department of Environmental Conservation has selected a $14 million cleanup plan in Middleport where the FMC Corporation will have seven sites excavated.
Those sites are immediately north and south of the canal and east of the Niagara-Orleans county line. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the sites were contaminated by FMC primarily with arsenic.
The DEC worked with the state Department of Health on the cleanup plan. The contaminated areas are listed as a State Superfund Site. They are considered a Class 2 site on the State Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites. A Class 2 site represents a significant threat to public health or the environment with action required, the DEC said in a fact sheet about the project.
Details of the cleanup include:
Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soils followed by restoration of excavated areas;
Consideration of soil tilling on larger parcels, based on the results of a pilot study to be performed;
Importing clean material that meets the established soil cleanup objectives for use as backfill;
Implementing a Health and Safety Plan and Community Air Monitoring Plan during all ground intrusive activities; and
Implementing a Site Management Plan for long-term maintenance of the remedial systems.
About the site: The plant site was used for the manufacturing of a number of chemicals used as pesticides and herbicides between the 1920s and the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the plant shifted from manufacturing to only formulating pesticides (mixing and packaging) and is presently operating in this capacity.
During its manufacturing period, the plant released hazardous and non-hazardous wastes through production activities and disposed of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes in an on-site landfill and a number of surface impoundments.
State Superfund Program: New York’s State Superfund Program identifies and characterizes suspected inactive hazardous waste disposal sites. Sites that pose a significant threat to public health and/or the environment go through a process of investigation, evaluation, cleanup and monitoring.
The DEC attempts to identify parties responsible for site contamination before committing State funds for investigation and cleanup.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2021 at 12:21 pm
BATAVIA – The afternoon Covid-19 vaccine appointments at GCC in Batavia are still on schedule.
The appointments between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. needed to be rescheduled due to the weather-related delay of vaccine delivery.
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have notified those with the earlier appointments about the need to be rescheduled for next week, but the other appointments are still set for today.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2021 at 12:02 pm
ALBION – Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced that more than $37.2 million in federal highway safety grants have been awarded to 502 programs throughout New York State during the federal FY 2021.
The Albion Police Department was awarded $2,000 for a child passenger safety program and $3,528 for a police traffic safety initiative.
The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office was approved for $1,700 for a child passenger safety program and $8,032 for a police traffic safety initiative.
These grants throughout the state provide funding to local, state and not-for-profit agencies for projects that improve overall highway safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries due to crashes, Cuomo said.
The projects awarded funding focused on three types of driver safety initiatives: highway safety, child passenger safety and police traffic services.
The funding, which is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is administered by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. This year, $37.2 million was awarded to 502 projects that focused on three types of driver safety initiatives:
• $32.1 Million for Highway Safety Grants
Provided to state, local and not-for-profit programs that cover a variety of traffic safety efforts including education initiatives, traffic records improvements, training, crash reconstruction, and railroad crossing safety. In addition, the programs cover distracted driving, slow moving vehicles, and drowsy and impaired driving. These initiatives focus on protecting child passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, wheel-sport athletes, motorcyclists, teens and older drivers.
• $2.6 Million for Child Passenger Safety
Supports child passenger safety education, training for child passenger safety technicians, conducting car seat checks statewide, operating a car seat distribution program for low-income families, and establishing permanent child safety seat fitting stations.
• $2.5 Million for Police Traffic Services
Initiatives by law enforcement agencies to target dangerous driver behaviors. This includes participation in the national Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization and other enforcement initiatives aimed at preventing unsafe speed, aggressive and distracted behaviors, and occupant restraint enforcement.
“The safety of our roadways is critical to communities in every corner of this great state and we’re working to avoid needless tragedies caused by dangerous and reckless driving,” Cuomo said. “This funding will support critical traffic enforcement, community programs and child passenger safety initiatives that will help protect everyone on the road and make our state’s roadways safer for all.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2021 at 10:00 am
ALBANY – The Republican Conference in the State Assembly announced it wants an impeachment commission to look at how Gov. Andrew Cuomo handled the Covid-19 crisis in nursing homes, including if the administration deliberatively withheld data on deaths to mislead the public and federal authorities.
Will Barclay, the Assembly Republican leader from Pulaski, said the conference will begin the process of forming an impeachment commission “to gather facts and evidence surrounding Gov. Cuomo’s handling and subsequent coverup of the Covid-19 crisis in nursing homes.”
Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1 in the 150-member Assembly. Barclay said his conference wants bipartisan support to establish the “Temporary Joint Legislative Committee on Investigating the State’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nursing Homes.” The committee’s findings and recommendations would be submitted to the Legislature.
“The Cuomo Administration’s nursing home cover-up is one of the most alarming scandals we’ve seen in state government,” Barclay said in a statement on Thursday. “Intentionally withholding critical information from the public, underreporting fatality numbers by 50 percent and the recent revelation they hid the truth to avoid a federal Department of Justice investigation are among the factors that raise the serious possibility of criminality. It is incumbent upon the Legislature to undertake a comprehensive, bipartisan review of the Cuomo Administration’s policies, decisions and actions on this matter and render a decision on what steps must be taken to hold the governor accountable.”
Cuomo said there hasn’t been a coverup. He acknowledged on Monday his administration was slow in providing information to state legislators about nursing home deaths. He said the mounting criticism he faces is politically motivated and is a disservice to families who lost loved ones in nursing homes due to Covid.
Barclay on Thursday highlighted a report on Jan. 28 from Attorney General Letitia James who said nursing home deaths may have been reported by as much as 50 percent. Cuomo said some nursing home residents died in hospitals and the state counted those as hospital deaths, because that is where the person died.
He disputed his administration undercounted the deaths. The protocol for counting deaths was where the person passed away. If they died in a hospital, those were counted as hospital deaths, not nursing homes. There are nearly 700 nursing homes in the state. The Department of Health has tried to get the data from nursing homes on how many of their residents died in hospitals after getting Covid.
Barclay said the March 25 guidance from state Department of Health, which said nursing homes had to accept Covid-positive patients, contributed to the spread of the disease.
Cuomo said New York was following the advice of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just like many other states. Cuomo said the nursing homes didn’t have to accept Covid-positive patients if the facilities didn’t believe they could adequately care for the patients and contain the Covid spread. He said 98 percent of the nursing homes that accepted Covid-positive patients already had residents in the nursing homes with Covid. Cuomo said the spread in the homes was mainly due to asymptomatic staff and visitors.
Assemblyman Mike Norris, R-Lockport, issued a statement on Thursday saying he supports the move to create a commission looking at Cuomo’s handling of nursing home data and whether the governor’s policies contributed to deaths among nursing home residents.
“With 15,000 of our most vulnerable citizens dead, their grieving families deserve answers and justice,” Norris said. “There must be thorough, independent and transparent investigations. It is good news that the FBI and U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of New York have opened investigations, but it would be prudent to appoint a special prosecutor to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. We must find out what are the real facts and get to the bottom of this in order to protect New Yorkers. This must be done expeditiously in order to ensure our government remains honest and transparent, particularly during this extraordinary pandemic.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 February 2021 at 8:27 am
Melissa Blanar of the Office for the Aging and Robert Batt of Cornell Cooperative Extension praised for service to county
Melissa Blanar
ALBION – Leadership Orleans has announced its alumni of the year for 2020: Melissa Blanar and Robert Batt.
Blanar, director of the office for the Aging in Orleans County, graduated from Leadership Orleans in 2019. Batt, a graduate of the inaugural class in 2018, is executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County.
Robert Batt
“Their ongoing leadership efforts during 2020 supported many areas of need in Orleans County,” The Leadership Orleans Steering Committee said. “Both went far and beyond their professional leadership roles through their organizations to serve at even greater levels. In reaching out, their natural leadership styles inspired the volunteer efforts of many others who to this day are still assisting them in fulfilling those needs. From distributing food to community members to addressing other pandemic realities, Robert and Melissa have been there to share their leadership skills.”
Leadership Orleans is a year-long program with about 25 members in a class who learn about the different sectors of the county, from agriculture, manufacturing, education, healthcare, government and other industries and services. Last year’s class was disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of a graduation in December, the Class of 2020’s commencement is tentatively scheduled for May 20, 2021. Batt and Blanar will be recognized at that ceremony.
Batt and Blanar have both been instrumental in the food distributions during the pandemic. They have worked with Foodlink and other distributors to have boxes of food available for free to local residents. (There is a food distribution this morning at Medina Central School.)
Those distributions have been at Holley, Clarendon, Albion, Medina, Ridgeway and the 4-H Fairgrounds in Knowlesville.
Melissa Blanar, left, carried milk to residents’ vehicles at a food distribution on Nov. 13, 2020 in Albion. Her office has been extra busy in the past year assisting seniors during the Covid pandemic, including recent efforts trying to help them make appointments for the vaccine.
Robert Batt carries a box of food to a car on July 2, 2020 during a distribution at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. Batt helped at similar events throughout the county. He also wrote a grant and is on a committee to bridge the digital divide in the county by bringing more high-speed internet access to Orleans.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2021 at 5:00 pm
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments today are reporting 5 new Covid cases in each county, which are among the lowest daily numbers since a Covid surge started in November.
In Orleans County the 5 new cases bring the total to 2,356 positive cases since last March.
The positive cases reside in the West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby), Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre) and East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon). The individuals are in the age groups of 20s, 30s, 40s and 60s.
Two of the current positive individuals are hospitalized. Orleans is unable to report the number of those who have recovered or the number of active positive cases today. This data will be included in tomorrow’s update. The Daily Data Chart also will be updated on Friday, the Health Departments said in a news briefing sent this afternoon.
In Genesee County the 5 new positive cases bring the Genesee total to 4,092 confirmed cases since last March.
The new positive cases reside in the West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke), Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield) and East Region (Bergen, Byron, LeRoy, Pavilion, Stafford). The individuals are in the age groups of 20s, 40s and 50s. One of the new positive individuals is an inmate at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center in Batavia.
Genesee is reporting one of the previously positive individuals has recovered and been removed from the isolation list. Genesee currently has 14 residents hospitalized due to Covid.
Correction: The Health Departments retracted one positive resident of the LeRoy Village Green Residential Healthcare Facility that was determined to be a duplicate.
ORCHARD PARK – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) released the following statement after it was reported last night that the FBI and the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office have opened an investigation into Governor Cuomo and senior members of his Covid-19 Task Force.
“For weeks, I have called for a full federal investigation into Governor Cuomo and his staff for their actions to cover-up the disastrous impacts of the Governor’s directive forcing Covid positive patients back into nursing homes. This investigation is long overdue but necessary to the grieving families who have been cast aside, smeared, and talked down to by this Governor for simply seeking answers surrounding the death of a loved one.
“I will keep working tirelessly until we have these answers. This investigation should leave no stone unturned and thoroughly examine the deliberate and willful action to withhold information from federal prosecutors and the public. The Governor’s actions represent one of the greatest betrayals of public trust during this pandemic. He must be held accountable.”
Health Alert from Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments
BATAVIA – Some of the Covid-19 2nd Dose Vaccine Clinic appointments scheduled for Friday at Genesee Community College in Batavia will be moved to another day due to the weather-related delay of vaccine delivery.
Anyone with an appointment between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. will be contacted directly by the provided e-mail or phone number to reschedule the appointment for next week.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
UPDATED at 8:08 p.m.: Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued this statement about the vaccine shipping delays:
“The Federal government has informed New York that nearly all Covid-19 vaccine doses allocated for Week 10 — which were scheduled to be delivered between February 12th and February 21st — are delayed due to the winter storms continuing to impact much of the country. Every dose that should have shipped on Monday was held back, and only a limited number of Pfizer vaccines left shipping facilities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This delay will undoubtedly pose a logistical challenge for New York — but as we have shown over the last 350-plus days, we are New York Tough, and we are up to the challenge. The Department of Health is working closely with all providers, including local health departments, hospitals, pharmacies, and FQHCs to minimize the impact on their operations and reduce the number of appointments that must be rescheduled. The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against Covid, and we will continue to work with our federal partners to expedite the delayed shipments and will keep New Yorkers updated over the coming days.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2021 at 1:39 pm
Amber Hofmeister said she likes how tattoos are a way to express oneself and highlight important personal events and passions.
MEDINA – A Medina woman has emerged as a contender to be a cover model for Inked Magazine, a popular publication highlighting people with tattoos.
Amber Hofmeister, 33, entered the contest after being encouraged by a friend to submit some photos. Inked Magazine puts the potential models in groups of five, with the first place winner advancing to then be in new groups of five with others who advanced.
Hofmeister has won three rounds and is currently in first place in the latest grouping. Click here to vote online for her. Voting ends at 10 p.m. today. If she is in first place, she advances to the next round. She would have to win two more rounds to make it to the finals.
Hofmeister said many in the Medina community have shared the contest on social media, helping her to pick up votes.
“The support has been incredible,” she said. “Never did I think I would have that much support from the community.”
Hofmeister, a mother of three boys, has worked the past four years at Velocitii in Medina. She has a side photography business and has preferred being the one behind the camera.
She got her first tattoo when she turned 18. That tattoo on her leg is of Jack and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas.
She has added many more highlighting interests and paying tribute to loved ones. Her left arm, for example, has many nautical-themed tattoos in homage to her grandparents, who loved to go fishing. She has a tattoo of a camera to represent her interest in photography. She has tattoos showing a microphone and piano keys because she enjoys music.
“It’s self expression,” she said about the tattoos.
If Hofmeister wins first in the Inked Magazine contest, she gets $25,000, in addition to being featured on the cover of the magazine.
“This is something that would really help me and my family,” she said about the top prize. “I would love to be able to win for my family and to draw attention to Medina. And if I win I will treat myself to a tattoo.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2021 at 10:39 am
ALBION – State Police have identified the man who was killed in a two-vehicle accident on Wednesday afternoon on West County House Road in Albion.
Steven C. Noah, 46, of Hamlin was pronounced deceased at the scene after a 2016 Jeep he was driving overturned multiple times, with Noah ejected from the vehicle, State Police said this morning. Noah wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, police said.
A 2010 Dodge was east bound on West County House Road, with the driver attempting to make a left-hand turn into a driveway. It struck a 2016 Jeep head-on that was traveling west bound, with the Jeep then overturning several times, State Police said.
The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit, Forensic Identification Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in the investigation, which is ongoing, State Police said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2021 at 10:21 am
The International Joint Commission plans to increase outflows from Lake Ontario until the spring peak, a proactive move to try to prevent flooding, the organization said.
The IJC intends to exceed the outflows set in Plan 2014, its lake water level management plan. The lake levels are down 3 inches in the past month and 22 inches lower than the level a year ago.
Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) said he supports the IJC’s decision to increase outflows from Lake Ontario.
“Severe flooding has been devastating to our communities along Lake Ontario,” Jacobs said in a statement. “Small businesses and homeowners have suffered major damage to property, structures, and facilities for several years – ensuring we are doing everything possible to mitigate the threat of flooding is critical. I am proud to have successfully advocated for increased outflows to better protect our lakeshore communities, and I will continue my tireless effort to support their well-being and prosperity.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 18 February 2021 at 10:09 am
The percentage of positive Covid-19 tests in Orleans has dropped to 3.1 percent over the past seven days.
A week ago, the 7-day average in Orleans was at 4.7 percent. On Feb. 6, Orleans was at 7.2 percent for the seven-day average, the highest in the nine-county Finger Lakes Region.
The current seven-day positivity average for the nine counties in the region includes:
Genesee, 2.4 percent
Livingston, 2.6 percent
Monroe, 2.1 percent
Ontario, 2.3 percent
Orleans, 3.1 percent
Seneca, 3.2 percent
Wayne, 2.2 percent
Wyoming, 5.3 percent
Yates, 1.0 percent
The Finger Lakes had a 7-day positivity rate for Covid-19 at 10.29 percent on Jan. 5, among the highest in the state. Now it is well below 3 percent. The seven-day average is currently 2.39 percent for the Finger Lakes Region. The Southern Tier has the lowest rate at 0.79 percent while the Mid-Hudson is the highest at 4.40 percent.
This data from the governor’s office shows the 7-day positivity rate for the 10 regions in the state.
State-wide the daily positivity rate was 3.15 percent on Wednesday, the lowest since November 23. The 7-day average positivity rate has declined for 41 straight days, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release today.
There were also 6,434 people hospitalized due to Covid on Wednesday, which was down 140 from the previous day and a decline of nearly 3,000 from the 9,273 on Jan. 19.
The Finger Lakes hit a pandemic high with 964 hospitalized due to Covid on Dec. 28. The Covid hospitalizations was down to 265 on Wednesday in the Finger Lakes Region.
“New Yorkers fought through the holiday surge of Covid-19 and came out on the other side, and now that the numbers are decreasing we’re able to loosen the valve and increase economic activity,” Cuomo said. “We’re in a footrace between ongoing new infections and our ability to vaccinate as many New Yorkers as possible, and although we have vaccine distribution sites at the ready throughout the state, we’re limited by available supply. New Yorkers have already had huge burdens to bear, and we’re getting to the light at the end of the tunnel, but we need everyone to double down on the behaviors that make such a difference combatting this pandemic. Wash your hands, wear a mask, stay socially distanced, and be safe.”
