Afternoon News Brief

Earlier they said that we were looking at a brown Christmas with high temperatures and no snow.  Now the national weather service is saying that we are getting a blizzard for Christmas.  There is a winter storm watch for Genesee and Wyoming counties from Thursday night through Saturday afternoon.  2 to 3 inches of snow are expected per hour and possibly a foot by Saturday morning.

COVID Update: Over the weekend 159 new cases were reported in Genesee county and 112 people have recovered.  14 people are hospitalized and one person at the VA medical center has passed away from COVID bringing the total coronavirus deaths in Genesee county since March to 20.  28 of the new cases are at the VA medical center and 2 are at the Leroy Village Green.  In Orleans county there are 76 new cases and 72 people have recovered.  6 people are hospitalized.  Another person in Orleans county has passed away.  There are 343 active cases in Genesee county, the first time the number has exceeded 300 and 152 active cases in Orleans.

All three airlines that fly into New York from the UK have agreed to test passengers for the new strain of the coronavirus.  Virgin Delta and British Airways have announced they will require people to test negative for the mutation of COVID 19 before they board the flights.  Governor Cuomo wants a national travel ban on flights from the UK citing travelers going to other states and then coming to New York.  Dr Anthony Fauci says that a travel ban will not work as the strain is most likely in the US already.  Fauci said that we should not overreact as the strain is not more deadly than the strains of COVID the US has been dealing with, the mutation makes the virus 70 percent more transmissible.  Fauci also said he believes the vaccine will work against the new strain just as well as the more common strain.

Governor Cuomo announced today that the Wadsworth Laboratory with 6 hospital sites across New York State have begun researching the new strain of COVID and that hospitals in NY state will be given testing materials for the new strain.  He also announced that over 50 thousand people have been vaccinated so far in New York.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley will be serving on the committees for Agriculture, Insurance, Rules, Veterans’ Affairs and Ways and Means for the 2021 year. Additionally, Hawley has also been re-appointed as Deputy Minority Leader of the Assembly Republican Conference.

Genesee county’s free drive through asymptomatic testing at 7690 State Street Road is going on holiday hours starting this week.  There will be no testing Thursday the 24^th or Thursday the 31^st.  Tuesday hours are from 1 to 4 pm.

The Buffalo Bills have the most players on the Pro Bowl roster since 1998 with 5 players being selected for the team.  Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Tremaine Edmunds, Tre’Davious White and Andre Roberts will all represent the Bills. The live game has been canceled because of COVID so the players will be showcased in a week long session of the video game Madden NFL 21.