By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On June 19, Madison County Historian Matt Urtz spoke with County Administrator Mark Scimone about the county’s COVID-19 response efforts and communications with the state.
Through a series of interviews, Urtz has been documenting the impact of the pandemic on local businesses, organizations and residents. The videos are available on the Madison County YouTube page.
During Urtz’s June 19 interview, Scimone discussed a number of topics, including the challenges the county has faced accessing COVID-19 related information from the state.
Madison County is part of the Central New York region set up by the Office of the Governor as part of the phased reopening plan.
“We learned everything via press announcement, basically,” Scimone said. “That was difficult for us because we were having to react to things that we were hearing in a press conference and not getting the information from the governor’s office in advance. That was [frustrating.] We would have these 3:30 p.m. phone calls with myself and other Central New York leaders . . . and we would always complain [that] ‘You guys have to give us this information. We can’t find out about it when the governor does his address. We need to know before, because we need to be prepared to address the questions we are getting from the public and our staffs.’”
The county administrator said he felt the lack of communication regarding NY Forward Phase 2 was particularly frustrating.
According to Scimone, the county was told that Central New York had been cleared to begin Phase 2 for a week leading up to the Friday reopening date. On Thursday afternoon, however, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated in an interview that the data would require review by his own experts and that CNY would not be entering Phase 2 the following day.
“I have never heard so many angry leaders in my life,” Scimone said. “ . . . They said “You guys told us all week long that we were good to go . . . Why are the goal posts being moved now? What is this about? Who are these experts? What do they know about our community that we don’t know? We have local public health experts in Madison County, Onondaga County and the region. We looked at the numbers and the numbers are good.’”
Despite the governor’s comments, the county decided to announce Phase 2 reopening during its Friday press conference.
Before the announcement could be made, however, the governor cleared the entire region to enter Phase 2.
Scimone said although the communication has since improved, there is still confusion surrounding the meaning of the different phases.
On June 24, Cuomo officially announced changes to Phase 4.
“We are continuing to study malls, movie theaters, and gyms,” Cuomo said in a news conference. “There’s new information that comes out on this virus every day and anyone who thinks this is a static situation is wrong. So we are continuing to study the most recent developments. We’re looking at what happened in other states. There are some reports that malls, bars, certain social clubs with air conditioning — that air conditioning may not be cleansing the air of the virus and just recirculating the virus. So we are studying that.”
According to a press release from the county, the CNY leaders learned about the changes from state representatives on the daily conference call the previous night.
In response the Cuomo’s decision, Madison County Chairman John M. Becker announced that the county would be withdrawing from the daily control room calls.
“Recently, they have become a waste of our time,” he said. “All the state had to say is that the original Phase 4 is on hold for right now. Instead, they are moving the goal post once again. No one wants a second wave of this horrible virus, but our community is ready. People are taking the proper precautions; let us get our economy moving again, our businesses open, and our lives back to normal.”
Phase 4 now includes the following:
Low-risk outdoor arts and entertainment (museums, zoos, nature parks, historic grounds)
Low-risk indoor arts and entertainment (historic sites, museums, aquariums)
Media production
Higher education
Gatherings of 50 people or less
Indoor religious gatherings up to 33 percent capacity
Other county updates
On June 26, Madison County reported the following numbers:
11 active cases
17 deaths
356 patients recovered
384 total cases
The same day, Madison County announced that SUNY Upstate Medical University is bringing its Mammography Van — which has been outfitted to administer a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal diagnostic test — back to Wampsville on July 2.
The van will be parked at Madison County Complex, 138 N. Court St., from 10 to 4 p.m.
Testing is free and available to anyone who is interested.
Individuals who would like to be tested should call 315-464-2582 and choose option zero to set up an appointment.
This is the sixth testing clinic that SUNY Upstate has brought to Madison County.
For more information, visit upstate.edu/emergencymgt/trending/coronavirus/mobile-testing-clinic.php.
The Madison County Health Department asks residents to continue to wear cloth face coverings when unable to maintain social distancing, and to practice good hygiene.
The county government is offering appointment-only services until further notice.
For more information about COVID-19, visit Madison County at madisoncounty.ny.gov/2479/Coronavirus-COVID-19, call the New York State Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065, or visit the CDC at cdc.gov/coronavirus.
