MOVING FORWARD
Saratoga County officials discuss Phase 2 requirements
SARATOGA COUNTY, N.Y. » As Saratoga County continues to move through Phase 1 of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reopening plan, there are guidelines and rules that need to be followed to prevent a backslide and allow Phase 2 to happen next month.
County officials held a Facebook meeting on Wednesday to outline those rules and to provide further information about the current state of the county.
Meanwhile, the number of positive Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases stand at 464, with 47 active and 403 recovered. Of those cases, five individuals are hospitalized with fatalities remaining at 15.
In all, 10,049 tests have been given to county residents.
Pete Bardunias, senior vice president of community advancement with the Capital Region Chamber; Shelby Schneider, president and CEO of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership; Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce; and Cathy Medick with the Saratoga County Department of Public Health were all present at the meeting.
Officials expressed gladness at being able to start reopening Saratoga County, though Shimkus was quick to point out that the county is “a few days behind” some other areas of the state, commenting that “for once, being part of Saratoga County is holding us back.”
The most valuable and relevant information disclosed was the location of resources and data regarding the process involved in reopening the county. The county officials pointed to several websites, one of which is dedicated to housing all pertinent information in one place. The saratogacounty.ny.gov website was specially designed to be a “one stop shop” for anyone looking for information about anything related to the reopening of Saratoga county.
Other websites that contain important information are saratogany.gov, governor.ny.gov, and capitalregionchamber.com/reopening. At the moment, only information regarding Phase 1 of the reopening plan is available.
“Phase 2 could happen as early as June 2, as long as the county meets all the metrics,” Medick explained. “If anything happens to cause a metric to fail, the county will remain in Phase 1 longer. In a worst case scenario, the county could go back to full closure, which is why it is so important to continue using safe practices.
“Right now, gatherings of groups of 10 people are acceptable, but social distancing must still be maintained,” Medick continued. “Face coverings must be worn if you come closer than 6 feet to anyone in such a gathering, and you should be limiting those gatherings to people you’re already spending all your time with.”
“It’s important for us to have a reopening that’s safe,” Bardunias commented. “I’m looking forward to moving ahead and turning the page.”
In Phase 1 of Cuomo’s re
opening plan, businesses are allowed to reopen with a curbside pickup model. Before any business, small or large, is allowed to fully reopen, they must have a safety plan in place. Templates for such plans are available on the websites given out at the meeting.
“Small businesses need to come up with a safety plan to prevent another outbreak,” Schneider stated.
Shimkus elaborated on Schneider’s statement, saying it was a matter of “safety and liability.”
Part of the safety plan involves having a way of identifying everyone who comes into a store on any given day, as a means of contact tracing — in other words, being able to pinpoint anyone who may be infected with coronavirus and has come into contact with others, putting them at risk.
“It’s your responsibility as a business owner to keep your staff and your customers safe,” Shimkus added. “Many businesses already have a way to do this. A lot of you have switched to payment with credit cards only, no cash.
“There’s information on those credit slips that tell you who each person is that comes into your store.”
County officials took time to answer questions from residents. Most of the questions concerned obtaining resources to keep small businesses going, which businesses are allowed to reopen when, and what major projects are going to be restarted once the county is able to start working on them again.
In summary, small business owners should continue working with banks, calling them if they have questions or concerns, and staying on top of the processes needed to keep afloat.
“Don’t be afraid to shop around at other banks,” Schneider advised. “You have that option.”
“There are still a lot of resources out there to help small businesses,” Bardunias added.
Businesses such as salons and hair stylists will be allowed to reopen in Phase 2. At the moment, that is all that is known about that part of the reopening plan.
“As of right now, information regarding Phase 2 guidance is not available,” Shimkus said. “When it does become available, we will make sure everyone has access to it.”
And finally, the biggest project Saratoga County hopes to be able to resume as soon as possible is the repair of the Erie Canal. Bardunias projects the canal will be fully operational in August. He admitted it’s not an ideal time-frame for those looking to get out onto the water right away, but that is how the repair schedule currently stands.
“If you’re an advocate of the canal and want to see it back in operation, I recommend speaking up about it,” Bardunias said. “Also, if you’ve got access to the water right now, you can go out boating — just be aware that right now there are no navigational buoeys out, and in some places the water is very low.”
County officials strongly recommended looking at any of the given websites for more information, especially the saratogacounty. ny.gov site. They welcomed people reaching out to contact them directly if they have additional questions or concerns. They also cautioned that we’re not free and clear just yet.
“We’ve managed to flatten the curve, but we’re going to see more cases. We’re probably going to see another spike and more hotspots show up,” Medick commented. “We must be careful to avoid going backwards.”
“I’m excited to get to the future, but at the same time I’m very mindful of what it took to get here,” Bardunias said.
For more information about the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the breakdown of the state reopening plan, and resources available to small business owners, visit saratogacounty.ny.gov, captialregionchamber.com/reopening, or governor.ny.gov.