County reports 62 new COVID cases on Friday, along with one new death...
There are 62 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 being reported in Chautauqua County the past day... and, there was one new death. The county's Department of Health says 184 people have now succombed to the virus... while there have now been 12,080 total cases. Officials add that the number of hospitalizations remains 37... and, there are now 448 active cases. They add that 16 of the new cases were in the Jamestown 14701 zip code... and, there are now 11,448 cases have now recovered... and, the seven-day infection rate is now 8.4%
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Also... from the County's COVID-19 Dashboard on Friday... beginning next week, the Chautauqua County Health Department will transition to weekly reporting of COVID-19 cases. The report on Monday, October 4th will include cases from Friday, October 1st and Saturday, October 2nd. On Wednesday, October 6th, a preview of the weekly reporting format will be issued, and on Wednesday, October 13, a full case report will be issued for the week of October 3-9. On each Wednesday moving forward, cases will be reported for the prior calendar week, Sunday-Saturday. This reporting model is compatible with other counties throughout the WNY region.
Nurses at Buffalo's Mercy Hospital on strike...
About 2,000 nurses and other employees have gone on strike at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo after their union and Catholic Health System failed to reach an agreement. The Buffalo News reports that hundreds of workers represented by Communications Workers of America Local 1133 picketed outside the hospital as the strike began at 6 a.m. Friday. The CWA's area director says negotiators made progress in talks overnight but not enough to avoid a walkout. Mark Sullivan is the president and CEO of Catholic Health. He says the company made ``fair and competitive'' proposals to increase wages and staffing.
SUNY JCC and MAST Kick-Off Manufacturing Day and Month Friday...
Friday begins National Manufacturing Month... and, local officials kicked off the month with a special ceremony yesterday morning at SUNY Jamestown Community College's Manufacturing Technology Institute. The program was hosted by JCC, and the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier. MAST's Executive Director Todd Tranum says they're excited to host the local Manufacturing Day celebration. Tranum says manufacturing is where "idea's come to fruition..." and where ideas and innovation all come together. Tranum says there are still many manufacturing career opportunities in Jamestown... and, the western Southern Tier of New York state. Nationwide... there are still many jobs that have been left unfilled in the aftermath of the pandemic... and, this region is no different. However... Tranum says filling these skilled jobs has been an issue for some time now. He says there are still good, high-paying jobs available across the sector. In addition to Tranum, who is also president of the Western New York "Dream It -- Do It" program... the program at the institute will was co-hosted by JCC President Daniel DeMarte.
