The Towns of Sweden and Clarkson and the Village of Brockport hosted a COVID-19 Informational Meeting on March 10 at the Brockport High School auditorium. About 80 people were in attendance, and several hundred watched through live-stream applications.
The meeting was called in order to share accurate information about COVID-19, particularly in light of the quarantine of students returning from abroad at SUNY Brockport. A lack of information from New York State during and immediately after the process of selecting Brockport as a quarantine site created a great deal of confusion, uncertainty, and fear among residents.
Participating in the Information Meeting were Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health; Dr. Heidi Macpherson, President of SUNY Brockport; Fred Rion, SUNY Brockport Emergency Manager; Brockport Central Schools Interim Superintendent James Fallon; Brockport Mayor Margay Blackman; Clarkson Supervisor Christa Filipowicz; and Sweden Supervisor Kevin Johnson.
Dr. Mendoza provided a medical overview of the COVID-19 virus and the measures the Monroe County Health Department is taking to prepare for an outbreak here. He also explained the quarantine process the 31 SUNY students are undergoing; how they are being screened, tested, monitored, and supervised.
Dr. Macpherson and Mr. Rion reported on the process that was used to select SUNY Brockport as a SUNY student quarantine site (a decision that was made in Albany), the preparations that were made and how the students are being cared for. They also described other actions the college is taking for prevention in its general population. Dr. Macpherson pointed out that only Governor Cuomo has the authority to close a state university or college. There are no plans to house additional quarantine patients at SUNY Brockport.
Mr. Fallon presented an overview of the Brockport School District’s preparations, which include dramatically increasing the disinfecting of buildings and buses, making sure that students and staff wash hands frequently, and developing a plan for on-line instruction if the school was ordered to close. New York State has released guidelines for schools to follow, and BCSD has implemented the guidelines.
The town and village leaders discussed, in brief, the mutual aid agreements that would allow them to assist each other in the event one of the municipalities has an outbreak among employees. They also assured the public that essential municipal services would be delivered.
A question and answer period followed the presentations with audience members asking questions, as well as questions being fielded from on-line applications. Many of the questions centered on the college students quarantined at SUNY Brockport. Dr. Mendoza stressed several times that the quarantine at the college has not increased the risk to anyone in the general population. He stated emphatically that Brockport residents have no more risk this week than they did two weeks ago (before the students arrived).
“I believe we have come a long way since last week when rumors of COVID-19 patients being housed here ran rampant, and we had precious little information from Albany,” said Supervisor Kevin Johnson. “We will all continue to press Albany to have all information in a timely manner and then disseminate it to our residents. COVID-19 will be a test of our community in many ways. I am confident that we have excellent people here working to make sure that our local response safeguards our residents while also providing the necessary care and compassion for the quarantined students.”
The informational meeting can be viewed on Facebook at Town of Sweden Supervisor. The municipalities also plan to have the video and slide materials on their individual websites (Sweden, Clarkson, and Brockport) as soon as possible.
For more information about COVID-19, visit https://www2.monroecounty.gov/health-coronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.
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