WSKG (https://wskg.org/tag/covid-19/)
Listen Live WSKG Listen Live WSKG Classical Watch Live WSKG TV
Watch Live PBS Kids
COVID-19 rates are spiking in many parts of upstate New York. So far, local governments have been left to manage the spread of the disease on their own. Now, some county leaders are looking to the state, and Gov. Kathy Hochul, for more help.
Researchers are recommending hunters get vaccinated for COVID-19 to prevent the spread of the virus to deer.
County officials attributed the rise in cases to residents socializing over Halloween weekend.
The world is approaching the second anniversary of a cluster of cases of respiratory illness traced to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Where are we now in the COVID-19 pandemic, and where are we headed? A panel of experts convened by the NPR and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will discuss the latest developments during a live-streamed event from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12.
The measure would allow students to take a rapid test every day for a week, rather than quarantine, after potential exposure to COVID.
“You could probably assume that we have the same type of vaccination rate that the rest of Broome county does. So about a third of our sixteen to seventeen hundred employees are probably not vaccinated.”
“The data clearly shows that we have a vulnerable population in our seniors, even if they’re vaccinated. So the rest of us need to do everything possible to help protect them.”
While plans for the new Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences facility pre-date the pandemic by several years, its opening comes at a time when many hospitals face nursing shortages.
“Your community, your neighbors, are working in those ERs around the clock, and they are tired, and they are getting really taxed.”
“Our numbers had gotten so low that we did not need to continue the rapid testing site. But the numbers are going up.”
“Last year, when everything really started way way back, there was this myth that kids can’t get it, and kids can’t spread it. And that’s obviously been proven way false.”
“A lot of the older adult care facilities completely shut us out, just for safety purposes, and kind of not bringing outsiders into their communities.”
“We’re talking about one to two new cases, daily, sometimes zero cases daily, to about 30 new cases per day.”
Tompkins and Chenango Counties had “substantial” levels of transmission.
New York is using those funds to target 117 zip codes from around the state with lower-than-average vaccination rates, though nearly 80% of those neighborhoods are in New York City or on Long Island.
The Department of Homeland Security said that the closure extension–which applies to the southern border as well–was partially motivated by the desire to minimize the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
Alberto José Cardelle will replace Dr. Barbara Jean Morris, who stepped down in October 2020 after SUNY Oneonta became a hotspot for COVID-19 cases.
Broome County’s declaration will expire at 3:30 p.m., after 457 days in effect.
Around the end of March last year, CHOW served 140 households a week. At the end of May this year, 10 to 15 households received deliveries.
Several other schools across New York are also requiring immunizations.
“It’s the communities and the connectedness that we have within those communities. It’s the jobs that we have access to. It’s the type of income we have.”
“You get the ten people, we’ll come with the vaccines.”
“This early in the process of vaccine administration, to have difficulty filling appointments is concerning.”
“We don’t have the availability of doses like the state does that we can swap what we had today with a different type of vaccine.”
“Why house us with somebody we can constantly contract it [from] every time a new intake person comes in.”
The Broome County Sheriff said half of the jail’s staff has refused to get one.
“This budget will set the trajectory for the state for the next 10 years.”
“If what the governor is alleged to have done is true, it’s a clear violation of public officers laws.”
The announcement comes as the university is still under a “yellow alert” issued in mid-March following an uptick in COVID prevalence.
The commonwealth has been vaccinating 83,000 people every day for the last several weeks, according to Department of Health data.
“As we continue to expand eligibility, New York will double down on making the vaccine accessible for every community to ensure equity.”
“It really, truly, is a Norman Rockwell experience.”
“At no time did any state official ask for my support for the governor in exchange for help with the pandemic.”
“A month ago we were struggling to get people into appointments, but that’s not the case anymore.”
Gov. Cuomo announced 10 new sites across the state on Monday.
“They know the people in the church, and when you pick a location like that, it helps put more people at ease.”
“We’re just bringing the vaccinations to them in a very low-threshold manner.”
“We said at the beginning that we will put these shots into arms as quickly as we get the doses, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“Not everyone’s going to have that primary care person to go to for any of their health care needs.”
Cases of the variant were reported in Tompkins County in January and earlier this month.
“If we can make it easy instead of more difficult, we might be able to address what’s happening with the overdose rate.”
“Transportation’s a huge problem for them to get here. The winter’s been harder.”
Other clinical service at the East Campus will remain open—including Surgicare, Imaging and Cayuga Hematology Oncology Associates (CHOA).
“We speak with our healthcare partners weekly and we all are seeing a decrease in demand for testing, which is a really good sign.”
“The Rebuild Rural America Act would transform the federal government away from being a complicated, siloed and top-down enterprise or bureaucracy, into a more responsive, effective partner for our rural communities.”
Despite issues with the federal response to COVID, it was much faster than other medical emergencies.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure everyone has an opportunity to get a vaccination that is eligible, whether they have transportation or not.”
“It’s like fighting a battle and knowing that your weapon can help destroy the enemy, but you’re short on the weapons.”
“We were waiting for this for a long time and everything. It’s like a big sigh of relief for me.”
“We’re all ready to go, but we can only give out the vaccine that we actually have in our hands.”
“The challenge is being able to pivot when we need to pivot.”
During the week of Christmas, four staff members and 21 inmates at the Steuben County Jail tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The religious groups that brought the case said that the rules violate the First Amendment and discriminate against them.
SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – The federal government is directing more than $1 billion worth of COVID relief funding passed earlier this year to offset losses incurred by ambulance providers. It’s welcome news in New York. “Emergency medical service providers across the U.S. have been struggling to stay afloat as the COVID-19 health crisis has raged on. Nowhere is that more true than here in New York, one of the hardest-hit states during the pandemic,” said Jeff Endler, a spokesperson for the United New York Ambulance Network. Lon Fricano, director of operations at TLC Emergency Medical Services that covers Auburn and Onondaga and Cortland counties, said every year in this business is tough, but COVID has doubled down on difficulties they face.
“Over 85 families are depending on this food for their Christmas dinners, so we are very concerned about being able to get the plowing done.”
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 154 COVID-19 deaths in the county.
“Similar to across the rest of the nation and the state, we are certainly experiencing the highest numbers and more crunch for capacity than we’ve been in anytime during this entire pandemic,” Lopatofsky said.
Garnar said that 30 percent of the ICU beds in the county were available and open as of Wednesday.
“Most of the inmates are isolated from each other,” Harder added. “They’re not allowed out of their cells. They’re basically quarantined to keep the spread down.”
“A lot of the landlords are small business owners or just mom-and-pop folks who may have a couple of that they picked up and they’re using it for side income.”
There are 580 active cases of the virus in Broome County and 29 hospitalized residents.
“So yeah, we hope by the time this ends we’ll still have some money in the bank and we‘ll still be viable.”
“We can’t let down our guard now, though.”
“When you’re looking at vaccine trials, you’re looking for them to be better than 50 percent effective, so when we’re talking about in the nineties, that’s a highly effective vaccine,” Eder said.
Thirty people tested positive for COVID-19 in a single day in Tompkins County. That is a significant increase.
“I think that’s something that we should all work to follow because that just makes good public health sense, but I think that’s one that would be very, very hard to enforce.”
According to the governor, yellow zones in rural areas must see a daily positivity rate below 4 percent before they can lift restrictions.
“Joe Biden has rightfully earned the title of being the projected president-elect and that should be recognized,” Rep. Reed said.
The new “pause” period runs through Nov. 15.
“We are entering a critical time with a recent uptick in cases of COVID-19.”
According to health officials, the person was a male in his 60s with underlying health conditions.
According to Boland, many more staff members have fallen ill in recent weeks than in the spring, when the first wave of COVID-19 hit.
Students who wish to leave must test negative before returning home.
“I wanted my vote to be counted right away and not after the Election Day.”
“They feel like they’re sort of cut off from the outside world right now which is scary when you’re in a situation like that.”
The deaths occurred between Sept. 30 and Oct. 17.
“It leaves all of these holes in the implementation of the law where you might have disenfranchisement strictly based off of the ability for the county to interpret a law really loosely.”
Rachel Murat is a Social Studies teacher at Maine-Endwell.
“I do not believe you can be trusted on this question, Mr. Reed,” said Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano.
“This is a public health crisis and you have cut them off from the outside world.”
“Right now, the COVID outbreak at Elmira Prison, by far the largest yet, threatens countless lives both behind bars and in the surrounding communities.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo deemed part of Chemung County an orange “warning” zone and part of Steuben County a yellow “buffer” zone.
So far, 55 students have been suspended or banned from campus because of COVID violations.
Oneonta’s mayor supports mask-wearing in public, but adds the vetoed ordinance wouldn’t make people any safer.
Democratic County Executive Jason Garnar and Republican challenger Karl Bernhardsen met in an online forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Binghamton.
County health officials announced in a press release the two—a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s—were from the same household.
Mayor Rich David tweeted Monday he was out of quarantine and back at City Hall.
The district will need to test around 20 percent of those coming into the schools—including teachers, students and staff—each week.
Candidates also discussed the ongoing confirmation hearings of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Health officials are now reporting up to 35 new cases per day. That is up from about 10 per day in April.
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras also announced Barbara Jean Morris resigned.
The death occurred almost seven months to the day the county announced it was closing all schools to slow the spread of the virus.
Officials made the decision after a rise in cases of COVID-19 included 11 new cases in a 24-hour period.
The Ithaca City School District began in-person classes this week.
As of Wednesday, there were 540 active cases across the county, including 191 in Binghamton.
“In coordination with this new cluster initiative, I am going to continue to ask people to stay home for these 14 days as well,” Garnar said.
“You want to make sure cases still aren’t growing, even if they’re underneath the 100 threshold over a two week period.”
“There’s no clear issue arising from off-campus activity,” SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. “It’s not as if there’s one big gathering or two big gatherings. But clearly the activity is coming from off-campus.”
According to Garnar, the rapid test machines employed at the site can produce results in 15 minutes.
54 new active cases were added to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard between Wednesday and Thursday, with 8 people currently hospitalized.
The majority of cases are not driven by college students, either. Garnar said just 21 of the 193 active cases are Binghamton University students.
“Certainly no fault that we’re placing on the facility at all,” Wheeler said. “It’s just more of a clearing up of those communication lines.”
County Manager Jack Wheeler and Steuben Public Health Director Darlene Smith announced an uptick in cases at the nursing home Tuesday afternoon.
A Buffalo lawyer who represents the church claimed it was following county guidelines, but that it can be difficult to keep track of everyone.
“A disturbing number were locked up due to slowdowns and failures in the assigned counsel and the public defender system.”
When asked if the recent events might deter another stimulus bill, Reed said his goal remains unchanged.
“When you provide a sample for a test, it is a snapshot in time. It’s a false situation to assume it protects you going forward.”
“We just have to make sure that these early indications of some isolated misbehaviors don’t become larger.”
“We committed to do everything we could to mitigate this situation, and today, that means ending residential housing for this semester.”
Hartwick College has reported only two positive student COVID-19 cases so far.
As the president of the Conference of Mayors, David said he will pursue increased federal funding and essential state aid.
Pressure on the health system multiplied when federal changes were made to the rules governing which tests insurance providers must cover.
“Any student that is ticketed will be…suspended immediately because this is serious. So we are moving very aggressively with those cases, with those parties on or off campus.”
Teachers have been given the choice of returning to in-person teaching or teaching virtually. Teaching aides have not been given the same option.
Resident Advisors cite positive dialogue with Cornell officials.
The study is scheduled to last two years, but a vaccine might be ready for the public sooner.
Earlier this month the college stepped back it’s initial plans and announced that students in states on the New York travel advisory list could not return to campus this fall.
“We have legislators in office that aren’t representing the people and don’t necessarily care about certain precautions.”
“Teachers are always paying for things out of the goodness of their hearts, and they’re not paid that much, but this one is so expensive we’ve got to get federal help.”
“Before this whole thing, I thought I would’ve thrown my life in front of kids to save them. Now it’s like asking us to go in and risk our lives.”
Parents and caregivers are wrestling with tough questions about the 2020-2021 school year: What will it look like if/when children are physically in school? And what will it mean for family life if/when children are at home for hybrid or remote learning? In the face of these challenges, there’s a lot we can do to bolster our children’s feelings of confidence and security as they head into a new year. Join PBS KIDS, top child development and education experts, and other parents and caregivers of children 2 to 8 for a virtual conversation! With the help of Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts and other PBS KIDS friends, we will answer questions and talk about the “little things” that will make a big difference whatever school looks like for your family — from routines that support social and emotional growth and academic learning to mindfulness habits for the whole family.
“It is really, really going to hurt this community if we don’t get some type of assistance.”
In the U.S., cremation has outpaced burials since 2015, and the gap continues to widen.
“If parents are going to have to go to work and the kids are at home, that’s just an absolute nightmare.”
“We have no idea what impact such a large influx of students during this time will have on the collective health of our community.”
One of the grant-funded projects at Binghamton University looks at how to best disinfect and reuse N-95 masks.
“Now more than ever, school districts need more funding in order to make this work in this environment.”
“This isn’t a small or large winery thing. It’s adding an expense, and expenses are high.”
“As the state considers reopening, it is unrealistic to believe athletic seasons can start on August 24th as originally scheduled.”
During their most recent online session, participants made art while talking about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Evictions are violence. They can mean the death of people and their families, especially during a health pandemic.”
“Those expenses still continue whether or not there are people here.”
“Scheduling bathroom breaks for little kids seems kind of crazy, but it’s just something we have to do to keep them safe.”
“We were all facing the fact that when we reopen, we have to figure out how to social distance in one of the most intimate settings there is: taking care of a customer.”
According to the team, Major League Baseball will not provide players for affiliated teams for the 2020 season.
Students will be required to undergo regular screening and testing for COVID-19.
“If we really didn’t feel like there was much we could do for that patient, we would move on, and that’s sort of the idea of disaster management, do the best you can for the greatest amount of people,”
“Everyone’s got that opinion, but it’s only me that’s got that liquor license.”
Earlier this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded absentee voting to include all New Yorkers.
We’re experiencing the coronavirus outbreak as one, yet we all have different coping styles. Are you focused on logistics? Struggling to stay motivated in a strangely isolated world? Are you unable to concentrate? Or confused about your sudden jumble of new roles?
“In the sense that you can waive rent and you can not have consequences that are going to impact those same people that you are trying to help.”
“The twice per week is not based in any scientific recommendation and counters what the CDC is asking for.”
Local officials complained about a lack of communication with state officials leading up to today.
Dine-in service is part of phase three of reopening
“It’s just you want some sort of closure already because, even now, I feel like we’ve been mean or something to dad.”
There are growing concerns and many unanswered questions about the pediatric inflammatory disease associated with COVID-19.
“Our state and local budgets are hemorrhaging”
The processing time of COVID-19 tests depends on what’s happening that day at Cayuga Medical Systems in Tompkins County.
“Low-income renters, in particular, are more likely to have all of their income earned in at-risk occupation,”
Broome County’s Executive Jason Garnar said if the region continues to fulfill the reopening criteria set by the state, it could see Phase 2 on May 29th.
The normal start date for fall classes would have been August 24.
“It takes that one person walking through the door. That one person being curbside that happens to cough on me, then who knows.”
“They’re going to be flooded with evictions that happen all the time.”
“You open a business tomorrow with 50 employees. You don’t do it right, one person was infected. You can infect 30 of the 50 in one afternoon.”
“I would like to say that we are enlightened enough that this will be a period where we don’t play gratuitous politics, but everyone draws their own conclusion.”
“We’ve been fortunate in that none of our residents, to our knowledge, have been diagnosed with COVID, but that can change.”
County Executive Jason Garnar’s office said the Willow Point resident was moved to a negative pressure room in the facility.
Binghamton’s curfew, free garbage pick-up and free parking expire on May 16.
The Governor said more details will be available on Monday.
“If they test positive, we can get them isolated for the 14 days and hopefully reduce and stop the transmission of the virus within the nursing home.”
“Our staff continues to work towards a solution for reopening the ballpark this summer.”
“I’m trying to look at the positive side of things with everything going on.”
The tests were conducted after an employee was found to have the virus on April 27.
The funding can be used for a wide variety of purposes meant to prepare, prevent or respond to COVID-19 for housing authority employees and people living in public housing.
“Folks who deal in dairy and specialty crops will be provided meaningful support when it comes to price losses.”
“Our farmers, who are now eligible for the economic injury disaster loan, had been told that while they’re eligible in name only, they’re not eligible in practice.”
Public works employees have been directed to disinfect any touch surfaces, such as benches, in county parks, daily.
The types of apartments rented in Binghamton do not give tenants much opportunity to organize into a collective bargaining unit.
Broome health officials said non-fatal overdoses have increased, advocates said fatal overdoses did, too.
The Council also passed a resolution to reduce the type of health insurance plan for the mayor, Common Council and other managerial staff.
Organizers for both sporting events blamed the COVID-19 pandemic in New York.
“The goal is to not let that go to two positive cases or more.”
Brian Miller represents parts of Otsego and Delaware Counties
The measures are extended until May 15, in line with state guidelines.
Overall, 78% of New York voters — including a majority of Republicans — say they trust Gov. Andrew Cuomo to decide when to reopen their state.
Most sections have put the start of the regular season on hold
The New York Farm Bureau has asked the state, in recent days, to ramp up testing for COVID-19 in rural areas of the state, particularly at farms.