State of Emergency Declared in Genesee County, All Schools Closed Until Further Notice
Written by Dan Fischer on March 14, 2020
News Release
Issued 7:30PM, March 14, 2020
From: Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments
“Over the past week, COVID-19 has evolved rapidly. While Genesee County has no confirmed cases, there are confirmed cases in neighboring counties and increased local testing. I believe it is inevitable we will see cases here in Genesee County,” stated Rochelle Stein, Chair of the Genesee County Legislature. “With this in mind and after discussion with Paul Pettit, Director of the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, I am declaring a state of emergency for Genesee County. This declaration allows us to procure goods and services as well as required and available assistance to municipalities and school districts. I am recommending that all schools in Genesee County close to students effective immediately for an undetermined amount of time.”
“We want to remind people the risk in our community still remains relatively low and these decisions are based on the need to slow transmission in our communities,” stated Pettit. “Through ongoing discussions with all 10 school districts and county administration, this unified decision is based on the increased activity in our county and has led to these preventive measures.”
A statement from Kevin MacDonald, District Superintendent of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, “in collaboration with the New York State and local Departments of Health, the component districts of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership will be closed to students effective Monday, March 16, 2020 until further notice. Component districts will be sharing messages to their respective communities regarding details of their closures. We ask all our community members to take care of each other as we navigate this public health matter.”
