Limited visitation to continue for specific groups

Press Release, Rochester Regional Health

BATAVIA – Due to the rapidly increasing prevalence of Covid-19 in the Finger Lakes Region, Rochester Regional Health will suspend general visitation at all hospitals effective Sunday, November 8 at 7 p.m.

This includes Rochester General Hospital, Unity Hospital in Greece, Unied Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, and Clifton Springs Hospital and Clinic in Clifton Springs, Ontario County. Newark-Wayne Community Hospital in Newark, Wayne County suspended visitation last week.

Limited visitation will be allowed in the following cases:

• Pediatric patients may have one support person on-site at a time. Two support people can alternate visitation.
• Obstetrical patients may have one on-site support person and a doula.
• Patients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, and cognitive impairments, including dementia or who have conditions protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, may have a support person who is medically necessary for their care.
• Visitation at end of life.

In the above cases, visitation will only be allowed under the following conditions:

• Visitors/support people will have their temperature checked before entering the hospital and then again every 12 hours while in a clinical area.
• If a visitor/support person has a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or more) or displays symptoms, they are not allowed into the hospital.

‘The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.’ – President-Elect Joe Biden

Photo from Joe Biden campaign: Former Vice President Joe Biden has been declared the winner in the 2020 presidential election after winning Pennsylvania’s 20 eelctoral votes. That pushed him from 253 to 273, past the 270 needed to be president.

Americans had to wait four days after the election, but a winner has been announced today: Former Vice President Joe Biden.

The Associated Press and other major news organizations declared Biden the winner after more votes came in from Pennsylvania this morning, securing the state’s 20 electoral votes, pushing him past the 270 needed to win the election.

Biden now has 273 and could pick up more. He has small leads in Georgia (16 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes), and Nevada (6 electoral votes).

“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” Biden said in a statement. “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

Biden was trailing in Pennsylvania after the in-person votes were counted on Tuesday. But absentee ballots and mail-in votes allowed him to overtake President Donald Trump. The AP and other news organizations projected Trump wouldn’t overtake Biden’s 34,414 advantage with 2 percent of the vote still to be counted in Pennsylvania.

Trump has vowed to challenge the results in court. He has claimed election fraud and illegal voting.

Andrew Cuomo, New York governor, issued a statement congratulating Biden on the victory.

“This is a historic day,” Cuomo said. “After the darkness, division and hate of the past four years, America has spoken and rejected more of the same. Congratulations to my good friend President-Elect Joe Biden and to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Today we go forward in hope and progress.”

Biden had strong support in New York State, getting about 60 percent of the vote to win New York’s 29 electoral votes. However, Trump dominated in rural areas of the state, including Orleans County, where he received 71.4 percent of the vote. Joe Biden received 26.1 percent of the votes for president in Orleans County.

Provided photo: Members of Medina’s Tree Board and village officials planted a tree in State Street Park on Thursday morning, in honor of Arbor Day. From left are Tree Board member Jake Hebdon, Medina trustee and Tree Board/village liaison Marguerite Sherman, Tree Board member Nick Mroz, Tree Board Chairwoman Kathy Blackburn, Medina Mayor Mike Sidari and Tree Board member Bob Sanderson.

MEDINA – Arbor Day began in 1872 when J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees.

Arbor Day is traditionally celebrated in April, but because of Covid-19, the day was postponed this year to Nov. 5.

Usually, a celebration of Arbor Day takes place with school children in Medina, but again, the pandemic forced the village to change those plans.

On Thursday, village officials and members of the Tree Board gathered to plant a tree in State Street Park, near the bandstand.

“Medina is designated as a Tree City USA, and with our continued plan to assess and replace trees within the village, we will continue to build a better urban development,” said Kathy Blackburn, the Tree Board chairwoman.

As a Tree City USA, a city or village has the duty to evaluate trees which should come down, decide where new trees will be planted and choose the species.

Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world. Trees can reduce the erosion of soil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, moderate the temperature, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen and provide habitat for wildlife.

The Arbor Day Foundation is one of the world’s largest nonprofit conservation organizations dedicated to planting trees. The Foundation plants and distributes more than 10 million trees each year. More than 3,300 communities, such as Medina, are recognized through the Tree City USA program for planting and nurturing trees.

Members of Medina’s Tree Board, with Blackburn, are Jake Hebdon, Nick Mroz and Bob Sanderson. Marguerite Sherman, village trustee, is a tree board/village liaison.

Blackburn added volunteers for the Tree Board are always welcome.

Local group didn’t like sentimental name of ‘Honeymoon Trail’

By Adrienne Kirby, Gaines Town Historian

This photo was taken at the corner of Ridge Road and Rt. 279, or Gaines Road, looking south. At this point, the Ridge was paved, since the curb is just visible at the bottom of the photo. Folks traveling to Albion still had to travel a dirt road.

GAINES – With the rise of the automobile in the 1920’s, roads throughout Western New York were slowly improved. Ridge Road was first paved through Gaines in 1926.

On Aug. 26, Gaines held a Booster Day celebration with a parade to commemorate the completion of the improvements made to its geographical main artery. Paving the road brought about significant business opportunities, which were seized upon almost immediately.

Less than a year later, in June of 1927, the Medina Daily Journal published a rather bemused editorial reporting signs painted on telephone or telegraph poles of “two bleeding hearts pierced by an arrow which is supposed to designate ‘Honeymoon Trail.’”

The origin of the signs was a mystery at the time of publication. Though Ridge Road does end at Niagara Falls, often called the Honeymoon Capital of the World, the editors at the Journal were not impressed and suggested “Ground Hog Road” or “Green Frog Trail” as alternate titles.  They concluded “The Old Ridge Road” would be a more respectable name.

The D.A.R. was in full agreement, and used everything in their arsenal to prevent such a “sentimental title” from taking root in the public mind. Just a month later, as reported by the Journal, the Orleans Chapter of the D.A.R. were “up in arms” over the proposed change of name and passed a resolution expressing their disapproval.

The committee responsible for drafting resolutions to preserve the historic nature of Ridge Road was chaired by Katherine Rowley, Orleans County’s first historian and a citizen of Gaines. They proposed that the new name was “insignificant and unworthy”, that “the majority of citizen[s’] … sense of propriety has been violated by such change of name,” and that “the name of ‘The Ridge Road’ should endure forever…”

By April 1928, the D.A.R. was fully mobilized and the Orleans Chapter had proposed working with the Monroe and Irondequoit Chapters to place “neat blue and white markers which are to carry the title ‘The Historic Ridge Road, established in 1798.’” They were to be 14 inches in diameter and placed every five miles through Orleans and Monroe counties. In addition, plans were being made to involve the State Historical Monuments Society in the “movement.”

The proposals were successfully implemented. Between 1930 and 1935, the D.A.R. placed five markers in Gaines, along with others in the towns of Ridgeway and Murray, thanks to legislation New York State passed in 1923 anticipating the sesquicentennial of the American Revolution in 1926. The Department of Education was to work with local groups to erect “markers to designate sites that are of historic significance in the colonial, revolutionary or state formative period…” among other efforts to commemorate the national celebration.

Curiously enough, the Orleans Chapter has no records of putting up “The Historic Ridge Road” markers, and yet a sign which closely matches the description in the newspaper stands next to the Village Inn at Childs.

The above photo shows Katherine Rowley on the far left on the day of the dedication of the marker, on Oct. 12, 1935. This is most likely the last known photo of her, as she passed away three days later. Next to Miss Rowley is Barbara Balcom, and the girl holding the flag is Elda Barnum, both great great grand nieces of John Proctor. The woman wearing gloves is Grace Bliss, then Regent of the Orleans Chapter, D.A.R.  The observant local reader will notice that in the photograph of the marker, the west side of the Proctor House is visible, and yet today, the marker is on the east side of the property. About fifteen years ago, the marker was moved in order to make it more visible to the public, as it was somewhat hidden by the hedgerow and low branches of the large black maple which sits in the northwest corner of the yard.

The program for the dedication of the Proctor Marker, printed on a patriotic-looking red, white and blue mottled paper.

This photo was taken on May 22, 1983 for the dedication of the historic marker at the Village Inn as part of the kick-off for the Gaines Jubilee, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Town of Gaines. Pictured from left to right are Ernest Leonardi, Masonic Grand Master of New York; Charles Aldrich, Niagara Orleans District Masonic Deputy Grand Master; Ronald Radzinski, Gaines Supervisor; C.W. Lattin, Curator of Cobblestone Museum; William Tillman, Proprietor of the Village Inn; and R. Stephen Hawley, New York State Assemblyman.       

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Photo by Tom Rivers – A fisherman is pictured in the Oak Orchard River in October 2014.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that New York residents and non-residents can fish for free without a license on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11.

New York’s Free Fishing Days encourage more people to get outdoors and enjoy the state’s world-class fishing opportunities. Legislation signed by the Governor in 2015 allowed an increase in the number of authorized statewide Free Fishing Days. Every year since, Veterans Day has been designated as a Free Fishing Day.

“The Veterans Day Free Fishing Day is just one way to acknowledge the contributions of our veterans while offering the opportunity to enjoy some of the best fishing spots in the nation, right here in the Empire State,” Governor Cuomo said. “I encourage everyone from expert anglers to beginners to take advantage of this Free Fishing Day and enjoy everything New York has to offer.”

The Free Fishing Days program is administered by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as part of Governor Cuomo’s NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative. The free fishing days program began in 1991, to give people who might not fish a chance to try the sport at no cost, introduce people to a new hobby, and encourage people to support the sport by purchasing a New York State fishing license.

Free Fishing Day participants are reminded that although the requirement for a fishing license is waived during free fishing days, all other fishing regulations remain in effect.

New York State continues to encourage people to engage in responsible recreation during the State’s ongoing response to Covid-19. This fall, anglers should be mindful in taking precautions to stop the spread of Covid-19 while enjoying the outstanding fishing opportunities throughout the state.

New cases include a student at Albion and one at Elba

Orleans County has 7 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 for a total of 421 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases are residents in Albion, Barre, Carlton, Ridgeway, Shelby and Yates. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s.

One of the individuals was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, said the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

Due to the new “test-out” option and the discrepancies in reporting domestic

Travel, the Health Departments will currently not be reporting precautionary quarantine data.

In Orleans, one person remains hospitalized due to Covid, and one more person has recovered and been removed from the isolation list.

• The Health Department has been notified of a positive student at Albion Elementary School. The student was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, therefore no school impact, the Health Departments said.

The individual is on mandatory isolation until recovered. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual.

In Genesee County there are 11 new positive cases of Covid-19 for a total of 422 cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Alexander, Batavia, Byron, Elba, LeRoy,

Pembroke and Stafford. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 50s and 60s.

None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Health Departments reported this afternoon.

Two residents of Genesee are hospitalized due to Covid.

• The Health Department has been notified of a positive student at the Elba Elementary School. The student was not in school two days prior to testing positive, therefore no school impact, the Health Departments said.

The individuals is on mandatory isolation until recovered. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual.

• 3-county database: To see an online database of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties, click here. There are currently 107 active cases in the three counties, with 54 in Genesee, 25 in Orleans and 28 in Wyoming.

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

Flu Tracking: For the 2020-2021 Flu Season we will provide data on Fridays on the current influenza activity. To check the data, click here.

For the current week ending date Oct. 31, Genesee and Orleans both have no cases. There are 88 cases statewide. This is up 42% from previous week.

Cases statewide for the season to date: 282. This data is influenza that is confirmed by laboratory testing. Not everyone seeks testing for confirmation of the flu.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Firefighters check to make sure a fire is out at 14050 Route 31 in Albion. A resident set furniture and some belongings on fire outside of the house, and the flames spread to the side of the residence, a state trooper said at the scene.

Firefighters were called to the scene at about 3:30 with Albion, Barre, Carlton and Medina all responding.

The fire caused a section of Route 31, from King Street to State School Road, to be closed to traffic.

The state trooper on the scene said a resident would be facing charges for starting the fire. No other information is available.

The fire caused significant damage to the side of the house.

Community members give job interviews through Zoom

Provided photos: Waylon Peet, a Kendall student, is interviewed through Zoom by Jason Hardenbrook about a career in operating heavy equipment.

KENDALL – High school seniors at Kendall today were interviewed by community members in the annual senior interview day. Normally the interviews are face-to-face at the school, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the district to try a different format.

Kendall opted to do the interviews through Zoom video conferencing. The interviews were 20-30 meetings and are intended to help prepare students for a job or college interview.

Eric Woodams, a Kendall senior, is interviewed by Jeff Conte, an electrician.

The 49 students were given feedback on attitude, poise, voice, eye contact, pacing and ability to answer questions.

Students submitted resumes and cover letters.

“We are attempting to prepare out students to be self-directed learners, responsible citizens and educated employees,” High School Principal Carol D’Agostino wrote in a letter to the community members who interviewed students.

Lauren Miller is interviewed by Tom Rivers, the Orleans Hub editor.

Ethan Kuhn, a  Kendall senior, uses Zoom to be interviewed by Kelly Peterson (Professor of Criminal Investigation at SUNY Canton).

Kari Harrier, a Kendall student, answers questions from Brandi Kurzowski about a possible career as a veterinary technician.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Volunteers, including employees at the Iroquois Job Corps in Medina, are ready at a food distribution on Sept. 18 at the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company on Ridge Road.

There wasn’t a food distribution today, but there will be at least the next two Fridays. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has funded the program for another two months through Dec. 31.

The USDA has authorized $500 million for a fourth round of purchases for the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Organizers in Orleans County has dates set for the next two weeks, with more expected through the end of the December.

The schedule so far includes:

• Friday, November 13th – Community Action Main Street Store, 131 S. Main Street, Albion.
• Friday, November 20th – Ridgeway Fire Department, 11392 Ridge Rd., Medina.

All events will begin with the approximate start time of 8:30 a.m., if trucks are there by 8 a.m., said Melissa Blanar, director of the office for the Aging in Orleans County.

There will be approximately 300 boxes of food available at each distribution. Each box weighs 30-40 pounds with a mixture of produce, dairy and meat.

Public welcome to give feedback for new setup at Butts Park

MEDINA – The Medina Skate Society and village officials will do a presentation on Saturday about a new skate park.

Lee-Whedon Memorial Library will host a display with a conceptual drawing of the skate park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be comment and question period from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The designer of the park will be available by a conference call to share his ideas of the park.

The Skate Society was able to secure a matching grant to upgrade the park with up to $250,000 from the Tony Hawk & Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundations. Medina was up to $215,000 in local funding in August. It has until Nov. 30, 2020 to see if it can fully maximize the grant.

The new skate park will be named in memory of Luke Nelson, a skateboarder from Middleport who often used the park. He was 23 when he passed away on April 22, 2017. His family has donated to the park and helped organize the fundraisers to upgrade the site.

The Skate Park is at Butts Park on South Main Street. That park will continue to be a memorial for John Butts, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant actions in World War II.

The new public concrete skate park will have a smooth surface and new equipment for skaters, bikers, scooters and in-line skaters. The park will also be an architectural work of art, said Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society.

Photo and article courtesy of Orleans-Niagara BOCES

MEDINA – Students in Gene Newman’s Security and Law Enforcement program at the Orleans Career and Technical Education Center spent some class time honoring veterans and their families.

Mr. Newman and his classes planted flags in front of the Orleans/Niagara BOCES center as a reminder of Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day.

“My class wanted to honor all of those who have sacrificed to preserve this nation in both peace and war,” he said.  “My goal is to establish a tradition for the Security and Law Enforcement program to do this each year.”

Pictured from left include: Mr. Gene Newman, Gena Shorter (Newfane), Melanie Myers (Newfane), Sara Larkin (Newfane), Patience Burdick (Lockport), Noah Neff (Lyndonville), Connor Krause (Newfane), Daniel Kelahan (Newfane), Nicholas Heschke, Jr. (Roy-Hart), Lilian Streich  (Lockport) and Fanessa McCaa (Roy-Hart).

Orleans has highest positive rate of 3 counties

The three rural counties of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming crossed a milestone this week when they exceeded 1,000 cases of Covid-19 combined since March.

On Monday, the combined cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming were at 990. Today, they were at 1,045.

Orleans has had the most cases among the three counties since March with 414, despite a smaller population than neighboring Genesee, which has had 411 cases. Wyoming has had 220 cases.

Orleans and Wyoming are similar in size at about 40,000 people. (Orleans had 40,352 in the 2019 Census estimate, while Wyoming had 39,859 in the Census estimate from last year. Genesee has closer to 60,000 people at 57,280.)

All three counties have seen the rate of cases rise significantly in the past month. Genesee has 88 new cases since Oct. 5, while Orleans has 96 more and Wyoming, 86 more Covid cases.

Compare that with July 6 to Aug. 5, when Genesee added 35 cases, Orleans was up 13 and Wyoming had 20 more cases.

Here are where the three counties were in cases in the past four months:

Genesee County

• July 6, 228 cases; Aug. 5, 263 cases; Sept. 4, 283 cases; Oct. 5, 232 cases; and Nov. 5, 411 cases.

Orleans County

• July 6, 267 cases; Aug. 5, 280 cases; Sept. 4, 290 cases; Oct. 5, 318 cases; and Nov. 5, 414 cases.

Wyoming County

• July 6, 90 cases; Aug. 5, 110 cases; Sept. 4, 120 cases; Oct. 5, 140 cases; and Nov. 5, 226 cases.

The three counties combined have done 88,747 Covid tests with 1,045 positive for a positivity rate of 1.18 percent.

The positivity rates for the three counties include:

• Genesee, 411 out of 40,844 tests, 1.01 percent positive
• Orleans, 414 out of 21,626 tests, 1.91 percent positive
• Wyoming, 220 out 26,277 tests, 0.84 percent positive

To see an online map about the Covid cases and tests in three counties, click here.

April Flesch praised for de-escalating hostilities from residents with complaints

Provided photos: The following earned employee of the months from October 2019 to September 2020. They include front row, from left: Lori Grube (Emergency Management), April Flesch (Chief Administrative Officer), Tammy Graham (Office for the Aging), Kathleen Wright (Social Services) and Danielle Ludwick (Probation). Back row: Michelle Troup (Public Health), Scott Snook (Computer Services), Gerald Bentley (Sheriff-Dispatch), Donna Wilcox (Office for the Aging), Steven Fuller (Public Works) and Sarah Osborne (Probation).

ALBION – Orleans County held its 40^th annual Employee Recognition Program this morning at Tillman’s Village Inn this morning.

The EAP Committee recognized employees of the month as well as the employee of the year.

“This is a very important and a very special occasion when fellow county employees are recognized for not only their service to the citizens of the county but to recognize those individuals who go above and beyond their duty,” said Jack Welch, the county’s chief administrative officer.

The EAP Committee receives nominations from fellow employees and department directors and then the nominations are reviewed and discussed by the committee and a selection is made.

The employees of the months for the past year were:

• October 2019: Steven Fuller (Department of Public Works),
• November 2019: Jeffrey Cole (Sheriff)
• December 2019: Danielle Ludwick (Probation),
• January 2020: Donna Wilcox (Office for the Aging)
• February 2020: Gerald Bentley (Dispatch)
• March 2020: Shelly Troup (Public Health)
• April 2020: Tammy Graham (Office for the Aging)
• May 2020: April Flesch (Chief Administrative Officer)
• June 2020: Sarah Osborne (Probation)
• July 2020: Kathleen Wright (Social Services),
• August 2020: Lori Grube (Emergency Management Office)
• September 2020: Scott Snook (Computer Services),

From this pool of candidates, a department head must make a recommendation to a separate committee to determine the Employee of the Year. The committee looked for additional service that an employee has performed since the individual was recognized as an employee of the month. Then the Employee of the Year is selected, Welch said.

Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson, left, and Chief Administrative Officer Jack Welch congratulate April Flesch for being the Orleans County Employee of the Year.

April Flesch was named the employee of the year. She started with the county in 2012. She works in the office for the County Legislature and the chief administrative officer.

Flesch handles many phone calls from the public, and often they are complaints, including many about garbage and recycling pickup. Residents will call to say their garbage wasn’t picked up or their recycling bin is missing. Sometimes Modern Disposal will call with complaints about residents putting syringes in the trash or used oil or an unknown powder, Welch said.

The callers may complain about not being able to process a DMV transaction in a timely manner, or they may be reporting a Covid-19 violation, he said.

Some residents, employees and other local elected officials will call and tell Flesch they aren’t happy with Welch and some of his decisions.

“Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list but you can see the variety and you can image the emotion the caller has during any given call,” Welch said during today’s recognition program. “The topics vary greatly from these unhappy residents.”

Welch praised Flesch for calmly handling the calls and not raising her voice or becoming flustered, even when the callers are rude.

“She has the ability to manage the callers’ expectation given the individual issue,” Welch said. “When the caller’s expectation is to have a call back from the CAO upon the returned call, she is never named as an ‘issue’ of which the caller needs to resolve. If fact, many times the caller is appreciative of how she related to the caller and their issue. She is a de-escalator of drama.”

Flesch handles the calls and her interactions with co-workers and the public “in a kind, courteous, professional, competent and compassionate manner,” Welch said.

He praised her for putting others at ease “especially in these challenging times which has an abundance of fear and anxiety at nearly every turn.”

Orleans County has 6 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 for a total of 414 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Gaines, Lyndonville, Clarendon, Ridgeway and Albion. The individuals are in their 20s, 50s and 60s.

None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Genesee and Orleans County health Departments reported this afternoon.

There are 15 new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Orleans is reporting one more recovery from Covid and that person has been removed from the isolation list.

One Orleans resident remains hospitalized due to Covid-19.

Genesee County has received 10 new positive cases of Covid-19 for a total of 411 positive cases since March.

The new positive cases reside in Batavia, Bethany, Darien, Elba and Pembroke. The individuals are in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s.

Three of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive, the Health Departments said.

Genesee has 15 more people are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Genesee also has six more recoveries and they have been removed from the isolation list.

Two from Genesee remain hospitalized from Covid.

• The Health Departments have been notified of a positive student at the Alexander Middle/High School. The individuals are on mandatory isolation until recovered. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual.

• The Health Departments have been notified of a positive student at the Batavia High School. The student was not in school two days prior to testing positive, therefore no school impact. The individuals are on mandatory isolation until recovered. Contact tracing is in process for those who are considered close contacts and will be placed on mandatory quarantine for 14 days from the last contact with the positive individual.

• Active cases in 3 rural counties: Click here to see an online database of confirmed cases in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties. There are currently 118 actives cases in the three counties, with 43 in Genesee, 19 in Orleans and 56 in Wyoming.

Here is each region’s percentage of positive test results as reported over the last three days. Orleans County is the Finger Lakes Region, which had the highest rate in the state on Wednesday.

• State-wide update: The statewide positivity rate is 1.86 percent while the positive testing rate in all Focus Zone Areas is 3.04 percent. The positivity rate outside all Focus Zone Areas is 1.70 percent.

Within the focus areas, 19,814 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 602 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 141,205 test results were reported, yielding 2,395 positives.

“Every expert told us come the fall cases would go up, and that’s what’s happening around the country and the globe,” Governor Cuomo said. “We got ready here in New York: we have our micro-cluster strategy and we have our additional testing. That’s why we have the third lowest positivity rate in the country.”

“But Covid fatigue is creeping up and there are serious caution flags in Western New York, the Finger Lakes, and in other communities across the state, so it is more important than ever that we be vigilant. Wear masks, wash your hands, adhere to social distancing rules, and enforce the public health guidelines that are there to save lives.”

More from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments:

• A reminder the numbers listed as positive/active are current community cases. The recovered numbers are only for community cases and do not include non-county regulated facilities. The total positive cases includes community active/positive, community recovered and all those from non-county regulated facilities.

• Gathering Size: According to Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.45, all non-essential gatherings of up to 50 individuals of any size for any reason (celebrations, weddings, or other social events at public facilities or private venues) unless otherwise designated (ex. Religious gatherings) are allowed as long as appropriate social distancing, wearing cloth masks/face coverings over their mouth and nose, and cleaning and disinfection protocol requirements are followed.

With the recent uptick of individuals testing positive and the stricter guidance placed by the Governor, it is important to remember that those who plan and host non-essential gatherings (whether at a venue or a private residence) as noted above, can be fined up to $15,000, and/or cause our counties to be considered a micro-cluster which will place the area under stricter restrictions.

• Micro-clusters: The initiative will take the most significant action within the cluster (Red Zone), moderate action in the area surrounding the cluster to stop the spread (Orange Zone), and precautionary action in the outlying communities (Yellow Zone). To learn more about the Cluster Action Initiative, click here.

• Travel Advisory: As of Nov. 4 there will be new travel guidelines. Out-of-state travelers to New York will be able to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine if they have a negative Covid-19 test result at least 3 days prior to entering New York and after a 3-day quarantine starting on their arrival in New York, test negative on day 4 of their quarantine.

If you choose not to test prior to entering New York you will be on 14-day quarantine. In both instances you are responsible to complete the New York State Traveler Health Form. If you traveled to another state for less than 24 hours, you do not need a test prior to your departure from the other state and do not need to quarantine upon arrival in NYS. The traveler must still fill out the NYS Traveler Form and take a Covid-19 diagnostic test 4 days after their arrival in New York. For more information on this new advisory, click here.

The Governor is also encouraging that non-essential travel to/from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont as they may meet the criteria for NYS travel advisory.