Morning News Briefing

For the second day in a row, Genesee County reports no new COVID-19 cases. However, fourteen new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states. Once again, the news is not as good to our south and north. Wyoming County reports two new cases of the virus. In Orleans County, four new cases were reported. Three new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Arizona and Maryland have been added to New York’s COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. Neighboring states Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania now meet the criteria for the travel advisory — however, given the interconnected nature of the region and mode of transport, the top dog says a quarantine on these states is not practically viable. That said, New York State highly discourages, to the extent practical, non-essential travel to and from these states while they meet the travel advisory criteria.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley is celebrating his endorsement and continued partnership with the National Rifle Association (NRA) as he continues his reelection campaign. Hawley, a gun owner himself and a firm believer in the Second Amendment, is proud to continue his relationship with the NRA.

Although COVID-19 mandates are forcing students and teachers to cover their faces, they “can’t mask the Batavia pride,” according to Kathie Scott, public information coordinator for the Batavia City School District. On Monday, Scott posted information about “Can’t Mask the Batavia Pride!” on the district’s redesigned website, writing that the campaign is “in response to all the reorienting that has been required to reopen school – from social distancing and face mask mandates, to hybrid and virtual learning and sport delays/cancellations.” The school Superintendent informed the school board about the campaign at its meeting Monday night. Scott said the campaign “has been in the works for a while,” with discussions taking place with the fire department, police department and others throughout the community to make it happen.

St. John Fisher College has announced it will be transitioning to remote learning for the remainder of the fall semester. This comes a day after the college reported 52 cases of COVID-19 in the campus population over the past nine days. Tuesday, the college reported a total of 64 cases since Oct. 10. In a statement to the college community, the school said that wastewater surveillance demonstrates increasing rates of the causal agent of the virus. It added that, while the college is at a level of confirmed cases that does not require it to take action by the state, it is taking this measure out of an abundance of caution for students, staff and the community.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is urging the Senate to pass the bipartisan Act, called the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act of 2020…of course, it’s the Restaurants Act. The Act would create a $120 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund to address the unique long-term challenges of food service and drinking establishments and ensure they can maintain operations, pay workers, and keep their doors open. It would provide economic relief to independent restaurants navigating unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic.