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COVID-19 Coverage

Woman Fined For Violating COVID Safety Protocols

A woman has been fined $1,000 by Chautauqua County for violating COVID-19 safety protocols. During the Chautauqua County Board of Health meeting, Douglas Hamernik, a public health sanitarian with the county Environmental Health Services, said an individual had violated the New York state sanitary codes regarding following contact tracer orders of isolation in the Jamestown area. According to Hamernik, the original fine was $2,000 but it was reduced. "Basically, this was an individual that would go to work without wearing a mask and following the contact tracer's instructions not to go ...

County Records 88 New COVID Cases; Active Cases, Hospitalizations Up

The county Health Department on Friday reported 88 new cases of COVID-19 along with a bump in active cases, new hospitalizations and people in quarantine. Of the new cases, 40 came from people living in the Jamestown zip code. There were also 12 in Fredonia, eight in Dunkirk and five in Lakewood, among others. There are currently 442 active cases, 34 people with the virus in the hospital and 1,193 people in quarantine. To date there have been 11,077 confirmed cases in Chautauqua County as well as 10,466 recoveries and 169 virus-related deaths.

Borrello Part Of Lawsuit Challenging School Mask Mandate

ALBANY — State Sen. George Borrello is part of a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court challenging the underlying authority of a universal mask mandate for students, teachers and staff in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, public and private schools, that was imposed by New York state in late ...

US Panel Backs COVID-19 Boosters Only For Elderly, High-Risk

WASHINGTON (AP) — An influential federal advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan Friday to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans, but it endorsed the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes represented a heavy blow ...

Hochul Pledges Help, But Isn’t Budging On Vaccine Mandate

Health care facilities created plans last year to handle capacity issues. Gov. Kathy Hochul suggests those plans be dusted off as staffing shortages loom in health care facilities statewide. Hochul made her remarks in response to reporters’ questions during a news conference Wednesday in ...

County Vaccination Rates Lag Statewide Averages

Chautauqua County continues to lag in COVID-19 vaccination rates compared to statewide figures. That comes as the health department on Wednesday announced 115 new cases of the virus, along with two new virus-related deaths, a bump in active cases and several new hospitalizations. According ...