Broome Executive Holds Last Weekly COVID Briefing

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar says he has given his last regularly scheduled COVID-19 weekly briefing due to a continued drop in the rate of infections in the county.

Garnar Friday, February 11 said the 6.5% infection rate is the lowest it’s been since this past fall and has been dropping for the past four weeks.

The Democrat says, however, residents need to remain vigilant in the battle against the pandemic, get vaccinated and boosted, get tested if feeling ill and remember while mask mandates have been lifted in most public spaces, masks are still required in schools, the jail, nursing homes, hospitals, the airport and public transportation.

Garnar says there will be updates from the Executive’s office and Health Department as needed and he continues to meet with school districts and businesses concerning the ever-changing coronavirus pandemic.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to continue to review the mask mandates in schools and Garnar says he believes there may be a development on that front after the winter break.

Meanwhile, the County Executive says he wishes the state would let localities know if there are certain benchmarks when making decisions about mask mandates such as vaccination rates, infection rates or overall numbers so local leaders have some idea what to tell pandemic-weary residents.