Poloncarz said he’s concerned we could see a similar situation in Western New York, as hospitalizations increased each day since Saturday. Deaths in hospitals are also a number that will be closely monitored, though there was a six-day decline in hospital deaths in the region. However, six people died in an Erie County hospital on Tuesday and five died in Niagara County.
The county executive clarified the death metrics related to nursing homes. A coronavirus patient that dies in a nursing home will not count against Erie County regarding its reopening efforts. However, if a nursing home resident does from coronavirus in a local hospital, they will be counted against the county.
“As long as the hospitalization numbers don’t go through the roof and the death numbers don’t go through the roof and we’re still able to keep the ICU beds and regular beds open and they can do elective surgeries, we’ll be okay,” he said. “If we see those numbers start going way up, I know from conversations I’ve had from the state is they’re going to do one of two things. They’re going to (either) keep us at phase one and say to keep that number down or say it’s so bad you’re going back to phase zero, so to speak. I think that’s what they’re facing now in Central and the Finger Lakes.”
Poloncarz reminds any business that is set to reopen under phase two to create a safety plan ahead of reopening. He said you don’t have a safety plan, your business risks being unable to open and may be eligible for fines that will not be paid by insurance.
MORE: SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESSES
“Do not open until you have authorization to do so,” Poloncarz said.