水果派AV

At about 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 15, Lincoln got a call from a Project Angel Food volunteer named Meghan. She was running late, she told Lincoln, who thought nothing of it. Volunteers often call ahead, she told 水果派AV on Saturday.

When the delivery arrived and Lincoln opened her door, she was greeted by two volunteers, a man and a woman, both wearing face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic. But when the woman moved her mask to the side, Lincoln realized: It was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on her doorstep.听

Living in West Hollywood, Lincoln sees celebrities all the time. She worships every Sunday with Pauley Perrette of "NCIS" fame, said Lincoln's mother, Joni, the Conquest town historian. So Becky doesn't make a big deal out of meeting famous people.听

But the two royals are another level of fame altogether, she said. What's more, she adored Harry's late mother, Princess Diana. Being feet away from her son and his wife, then, Becky couldn't help being a little bit starstruck.

"The whole thing was quite overwhelming," she said.

Harry and Markle asked Becky how she and her neighbors were doing. She told them that the week prior, she handed out face masks to her fellow residents. The masks were made by Elaine Rubenau Reich, a friend from the northern Cayuga County area, Joni said. The whole time, the royals were "really, really personable," Becky said.

After they left, one of Becky's neighbors, Dan Tyrell, who also received a delivery, ran to her door to ask if she realized who had just visited them. But what neither of them yet realized was how interested the media was in that visit.听

Tyrell would have his door knocked on nine times by members of the media, many of them British tabloids, Becky said. She got four phone calls, and her friend was approached by someone with a microphone and camera while driving Becky home from dialysis treatment. For a short time, a security guard was hired for her complex, she said.

"It got a little crazy," she said.听

Becky and Tyrell agreed they would only give interviews that highlighted the work of Project Angel Food, she said. For her, that included and a local TV channel.听

"Now she knows a little about how it must be for (the royal family), to have microphones in their face all the time," Joni said.

Cuomo, who visited SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse to deliver his daily COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, outlined the 12-point list that regions must follow. The guidelines allow for a phased reopening if the region's coronavirus hospitalization rate declined over a 14-day period.听

If a region meets that standard, businesses can slowly reopen. The first phase would include construction and manufacturing businesses with a low risk of spreading COVID-19. In the second phase, other industries will be allowed to open based on a few factors, including whether they perform essential functions and if there is a low risk of infection in the workplace. Businesses must take precautions to protect customers and employees.听

One addition to the guidelines that wasn't mentioned in recent briefings is a requirement that regions have at least 30% of their hospital and intensive care unit beds available. If there is another COVID-19 outbreak and the hospitals are overwhelmed, the region will be shut down again.听

"Your health care system cannot go over 70% capacity," Cuomo said. "If you're at 70%, bells should go off."聽

When regions reopen, there will be a greater focus on testing. The state is already in the process of expanding testing 鈥� Cuomo signed an executive order to have pharmacies serve as COVID-19 testing sites 鈥� and regions will be required to have enough testing sites to serve the population.听

Testing has been difficult in some communities, especially rural parts of the state. But Cuomo said the state will follow guidance from Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Birx recommends 30 tests for every 1,000 people, which means a region would have the ability to test 3% of its population.听

"Testing won't work if it is impossible to get," Cuomo said. "Testing won't work if it is too hard to get. So you have to have the right number of sites for the area that you're dealing with."

After the testing, tracing will be important to track the infection rate. There must be at least 30 tracers for every 100,000 people, according to Cuomo. Isolation facilities must be established for those who have COVID-19 but can't self-isolate at home.听

Cuomo wants each region to set up a "regional control room" that would track the infection rate, hospital capacity and the use of personal protective equipment. It would also be used to examine business compliance with the guidelines.听

No region will open before May 15, when the state's stay-at-home order and closure of non-essential businesses are set to expire. There are parts of the state, especially downstate areas that have been most affected by the crisis, that won't open immediately.听

But central New York is in a much different position. Leaders from several counties in the region, including Cayuga and Onondaga, are developing a reopening strategy. Those conversations started last week.听

On Monday, Cuomo released the results of additional antibody testing that found central New York had the second-lowest infection rate in the state.听

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, who had a briefing a few hours after Cuomo's in Syracuse, said there are discussions between state and local leaders about the "details and logistics" of reopening the regional economy. May 15, he noted, is the earliest it could happen.听

"We've been preparing for this," McMahon said.

Two-thirds of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 are in households with other confirmed cases, according to the Cayuga County Health Department.听

Contact tracing has been completed for the newest cases. There are 61 people in mandatory quarantine because they had direct contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. It's unknown how many of those quarantined are linked to the three new confirmed cases.听

There are five people, including the three new cases, in mandatory isolation. Isolation is ordered when someone tests positive for COVID-19. So far, 46 people have recovered and were discharged from isolation.听

Thirty males and 22 female patients have tested positive for COVID-19. A bulk of the cases are under age 40. There have been four children under age 10 who've tested positive, including an infant who was 3 1/2 months old at the time of the test. Five children in the 10-19 age range have contracted the virus.听

A plurality of the cases has been in the 30-39 age range (21), with 13 cases among those in their 20s. Four people in their 50s and three people in their 60s have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been two cases in the 40-49 age group, including a man who died of COVID-19 鈥� the lone death reported in Cayuga County.听

The county achieved a milestone within the last 24 hours. There have been more than 1,000 residents tested for COVID-19. The Cayuga County Health Department has received 990 results 鈥� 52 positives and 938 negatives 鈥� and is awaiting the results of 18 tests.听

In Onondaga County, where officials have recently expanded testing efforts to include pro-active testing at senior living facilities, 44 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases were announced Thursday. The total number of cases now stands at 920 and the number of active cases went from 296 to 326.

Onondaga County also announced that three more people died from the coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths there to 33.

Only one other county bordering Cayuga reported a newly confirmed case on Thursday. Wayne County officials said there was one additional positive test result, bringing the total there to 70.

Among the other surrounding counties, Tompkins has had the most cases with 132, followed by Oswego (62), Seneca (34) and Cortland (32).

While some businesses will be allowed to open as early as mid-May, schools will remain closed through June.听

Cuomo's decision affects 700 public school districts with more than 2.59 million students, 1,800 private schools and New York's public and private colleges and universities. Distance learning, which allows educators to offer classes remotely, will continue.听

The main challenge, according to Cuomo, was how to operate schools in accordance with social distancing guidelines and without mass gatherings.听

"We don't think it's possible to do that in a way that would keep our children and students and educators safe, so we're going to have the schools remain closed for the rest of the year," Cuomo said.听

There hasn't been a decision on summer school. Summer school is usually reserved for remedial studies, but there has been interest from some districts in bringing students back over the summer to make up for the loss of classroom activities.

Cuomo said there will be a decision by the end of May on whether summer school will be permitted.听

Even though schools will be closed, they must continue to offer meal services and child care for essential workers. Those policies are a continuation of measures in place since schools were closed in March.听

Looking ahead to the fall and the 2020-21 academic year, schools must develop plans that are approved by the state before they reopen. The plans, according to Cuomo, must include how schools will monitor the spread of COVID-19 and how to ensure student safety.

Extracurricular activities will also be part of the plans. Before Cuomo's announcement, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, which oversees high school sports in the state, canceled the spring state championships. The pandemic led to the cancellation of the winter sports championships that were scheduled for March.听

Colleges and universities must develop reopening plans, too. The plans will cover student housing, meals and gatherings.听

Cuomo acknowledged that it may be difficult for schools to implement social distancing and other guidelines because of space. It also comes as schools are expecting to lose 20% of their state aid unless the federal government provides additional support to the state government.听

"How does a school socially distance?" Cuomo asked. He then used the Red Room at the state Capitol, where he's hosted nearly all of his COVID-19 briefs, as an example. For weeks, reporters in the room are seated further apart than normal due to social distancing guidelines, which encourage people to remain six feet apart in public settings.听

"How do you run a school like this? How many more rooms would you need?" he asked.听

Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa and interim state Education Commissioner Shannon Tahoe agree with Cuomo's decision to close schools. This week, they announced the formation of a task force that will assist schools with the reopening process 鈥� whenever that happens.听

The task force will work with the state Department of Health and issue recommendations to Cuomo's reopening advisory board.听

"By working with our partners across the state, we can ensure that our children's educational, developmental and overall wellbeing is considered during this important discussion," Rosa and Tahoe said.听

Cuomo issued an executive order in March to cancel elective surgeries. It was part of a statewide effort to expand hospital capacity for the COVID-19 response. Last week, Cuomo signaled that he would allow elective surgeries to resume.听

During his COVID-19 briefing Wednesday, Cuomo said that hospitals where there isn't "fear of a COVID surge" may restart outpatient treatments. That general description would appear to apply to Cayuga County, which has reported 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and minimal hospitalizations. There has been one coronavirus-related death in the county.听

In the last 11 days, five people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Cayuga County.听

But the guidelines hospitals must meet to begin conducting elective surgeries again isn't limited to concern about a potential spike in COVID-19 cases. Jim Malatras, president of Empire State College and one of Cuomo's advisers, explained that hospitals can reopen for the procedures if they have at least 30% overall bed capacity, 30% intensive care unit capacity and there isn't an increase in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.听

"Some of the individual hospitals don't meet one of those tests and some of the counties haven't met that test, so that's why you see some of the differences in the regions just based on the hospitalizations of those specific regions," Malatras said.听

After Cuomo's briefing, the governor's office told 水果派AV that elective surgeries can't resume in Cayuga County because Auburn Community Hospital doesn't have enough bed capacity. The hospital has 14.67% of its total beds available and 21% open in its intensive care unit 鈥� both of which are under the 30% threshold set by the state.听

Matthew Chadderdon, vice president of marketing and public affairs for Auburn Community Hospital, said the hospital is working with the state Department of Health to "understand the criteria for reopening for elective surgeries and believe any issues with capacity and available beds in our ICU and other departments will be clarified soon."聽

A few weeks ago, Chadderdon continued, the hospital's management assembled a team to develop plans for resuming elective surgeries and other services. That team has been meeting regularly, he said, to formulate a strategy that includes strict safety guidelines for patients.听

"The plan is a roadmap to guide readiness, prioritization and scheduling," Chadderdon said. "The roadmap will include timing, testing, adequate equipment, prioritization and scheduling, as well as COVID-related safety and risk mitigation, patient communications, environmental cleaning and regulatory issues."聽

Auburn Community Hospital hasn't cared for many COVID-19 patients. Chadderdon said there have been less than 10 COVID-19 patients at the hospital over a 55-day period.听

By comparison, Onondaga County reported on Wednesday that it has 39 COVID-19 patients in its hospitals. Despite having more than three dozen patients with the coronavirus, it didn't affect the hospitals' ability to reopen for elective procedures.听

The resumption of elective treatments could provide a much-needed revenue boost to hospitals. Many hospitals, including Auburn, sustained severe financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chadderdon told 水果派AV last week that the number of surgeries at the hospital decreased by approximately 85% since Cuomo's order took effect in March.听

"We look forward to announcing a date very soon on when surgeries will reopen at Auburn Community Hospital," Chadderdon said.听

Two of the passengers聽鈥� Monica Amelda, 61, of Brampton, Ontario, and Florie Singh, 77, of Guyana聽鈥� were pronounced dead after the head-on collision.

Suraj Singh, of Richmond Hill, was driving the Toyota Sienna; another Richmond Hill resident,聽40-year-old聽Danpatie Singh, was also in the vehicle.听Both were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester with serious injuries, according to the release.

Seller, who was operating a 2011 Ford Edge, is accused of traveling westbound in the eastbound Thruway lane.听She was transported to Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse for serious injuries she sustained.

Following an investigation by state police and presentation of the case to a Seneca County grand jury, Seller was arrested and arraigned April 22 in county court with 18 counts of felony-level offenses and three misdemeanors.

Her charges include five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, class B felonies, three counts of first-degree vehicular manslaughter, class C felonies, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, class C felonies, three counts of aggravated vehicular assault, class C felonies, three counts of first-degree vehicular assault, class D felonies, and two counts of second-degree vehicular assault, class E felonies.

Her other misdemeanor charges are aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. She was also charged with failure to keep right and failure to use designated lane.

Seller was released on her own recognizance to appear in court at a later date, according to the release.

With 11 cases, Genoa has the second-most cases in the county. It also had the largest increase in cases since the last data release, with nine more residents testing positive over the last two weeks.听

There were two new cases reported in Auburn, bringing the city's total up to seven. The towns of Brutus and Locke also had two new cases since mid-April. Two towns 鈥� Conquest and Fleming 鈥� each had one new positive case.听

Overall, there have been positive cases of the virus in 12 towns and the city of Auburn. Ten towns haven't had a confirmed case, but residents have been quarantined due to contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.听

Summerhill is the lone Cayuga County town that hasn't had a confirmed case or a quarantined resident.听

Mandatory quarantine has been ordered for 220 county residents, according to the health department. More than a third of those are in Auburn (82). There have been confirmed cases of COVID-19 involving people who were initially quarantined due to exposure to someone with the virus.听

Cayuga County Public Health Director Kathleen Cuddy addressed the release of town-level data in an email to 水果派AV on Saturday. She reiterated the need for people to realize that COVID-19 is "present everywhere" and could cause widespread illness.听

"This has been a consistent message from the Cayuga County Health Department and other credible resources," Cuddy said.听

No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported Monday. Four people remain in mandatory isolation after testing positive. There have been 43 people who recovered and were discharged from isolation.听

The county has one coronavirus-related death: A man in his 40s who had underlying health conditions.听

As of Monday, the county has received 899 test results 鈥� 48 positives and 851 negatives. The health department is awaiting the results of 15 tests.听

In neighboring Onondaga County, officials reported one more death from COVID-19 on Monday, raising the total in that county to 26. They also reported 21 new positive coronavirus test results to bring the total to 819. That includes two new cases in the town of Lysander, which borders part of Cayuga County. Among other bordering towns from Onondaga County, Skaneateles (15), Elbridge (2) and Spafford (2) had no new cases.

Two other counties that border Cayuga reported COVID-19 deaths on Monday. A Wayne County death was the first for that county, while an Oswego County death was its third. Wayne is now up to 68 confirmed coronavirus cases while Oswego is at 61.

Seneca County reported one new case for the first time in several days, raising its total to 34. Like Onondaga County, Seneca provides daily town-by-town figures, but the new case did not change numbers for the two towns that have land borders with Cayuga County. The town of Seneca Falls has had six cases while Tyre has had one.

Cortland County continued to report its confirmed case total at 32 through Monday, while Tompkins County, with 130 confirmed cases, also said it had no new cases.

"With more time, people became more accustomed to social distancing. It became a habit," Penny said. "I see that as people come here. They're very conscious, patient and respectful."

Indeed, with gorgeous weather that first Sunday, the business was greeted by a nonstop line of people spaced 6 feet apart, said the Millses, of Port Byron. On advice from the Cayuga County Health Department, they and their staff remind customers of that distance when necessary, and sanitize any surfaces that are touched often.听

That's been a learning curve for both the new owners and their staff of about 25. But that staff, many of whom are college students who worked at Reese's under previous owner Tom Watkins, have been helping the Millses with the rest, they said. The only thing they can't help do is balance the schedule. Jamison said that with all the students home already, it's hard to get everyone hours.听

Watkins himself was also "completely amazing" as he turned the business over to the Millses, they said. He bought it in the early 2000s from his uncle, Bill Reese, who opened it in a former Carvel in 1973. And Watkins personally showed the new owners everything about operating it, including a 40-hour "boot camp" on making Reese's ice cream the third week of February. Penny, who has taught in the Port Byron school district for 20 years, called it "one of the hardest-working vacations I've ever taken."

"He wants it to continue, to prosper," Jamison said of Watkins and his former business. "He really took the time to make sure we're comfortable in what we're doing."

Now the Millses are making Reese's their own. Though some ask, they don't plan on bringing miniature golf back. There's nothing left of the old course, which was torn down years ago, so it'd be "a huge financial prospect," Penny said. But they will use the land for something else in the future. And they've already added a few flavors to the Reese's lineup, as well as a cinnamon maple oat milk hard ice cream for vegans, made by Byrne Dairy. If it sells well enough, the business could begin making its own plant-based ice cream, Jamison said.

Other additions to the menu include tater tots and a children's meal. The Millses always look for them when they're ordering food, as they have two daughters,聽Mallory and Alivia. And though Reese's customers can't eat inside the dining room 鈥� which features new lighting, decorations, carpeting and paint 鈥� they can still order hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, salads and more to go.

The business is truly a family one for the Millses. Jamison's parents, George and Sharon Mills, are part owners. It was Sharon who showed him a Facebook post in June about the business being for sale, he said. He emailed Watkins the next day for a showing, and the Millses closed on Reese's in November.听

Jamison, a lifelong resident of Port Byron, had been looking for opportunities like Reese's for awhile. He's worked for a few restaurants over the years, including the Old Erie in Weedsport and the Sherwood Inn in Skaneateles. For the last 18 years, he was an employee of Zurich Cinemas, owner of several movie theaters in upstate New York. Penny, meanwhile, is a Jordan native who worked at an ice cream stand in high school and college, then in retail and restaurants before her teaching career.

She and Jamison talked about buying a business like Reese's closer to their retirement, she said.

But when the opportunity presented itself, it "screamed" at them 鈥� the way we all do when ice cream is involved.

"It's been an amazing few weeks," Penny said. "Hopefully we can let people inside soon, so family and friends can enjoy it. We really want it to be a fun, family-friendly and inviting atmosphere."

"The small businesses in downtown are the flavor and unique character of our city," she said.听"It's so heartbreaking to be so close and then just have such a setback, and a really uncertain future."

That's why Kline launched Operation Positive Downtown, a grassroots campaign to enliven the area's lifeless storefronts with art.

A partnership between the district, the Finger Lakes Art聽Council and the Cayuga County Office of Tourism, the campaign started with a call to more than 100 area artists to contribute rainbows and hearts to be hung in the windows of the first business, Good Shepherds Brewing Co. on Genesee and William streets. Much of the art came from outside Auburn, Kline said.

"It was uplifting for me, personally, to see the generosity and creativity of everyone," she said.

Kline, art council co-president Sandy Shutter and Maureen McEvers of the tourism office were decorating the downtown brewery Wednesday afternoon. Kline marveled at the contributions of art, which included a rainbow mobile, decoupage pieces with the message "Auburn strong: We're in it together," and enough cutout hearts to cover a 20-foot table. Meanwhile, Shutter painted an inspirational message in the window, wrapped around a cutout of a full mug with rainbow foam: "We will per-serve beer." Kline has a soft spot for puns, she joked.

Kline said the campaign's next stop will be the vacant office across Genesee Street from Good Shepherds, formerly occupied by attorney John Rossi. She'd like to continue decorating more downtown businesses, and encourages any who want to participate, as well as any artists who want to contribute, to contact her at (315) 730-4622 or jesse@auburndowntown.org.

With many of those businesses missing out on the Small Business Administration's loans, ineligible for nonprofit grants and cut off from out-of-town customers, it's up to the local community to support them, Kline said. That could mean contributing art to the campaign, but it could also mean just spending part of a relief check or extra unemployment insurance on takeout, or a gift card.

"Be generous with that money. It's meant for patronizing local businesses and putting it back into your community," she said. "It's not for saving away for a rainy day. Because the rainy day is here."

Kim Dungey, the office's senior nutrition program volunteer coordinator, wore a superhero cape for the occasion. Dungey's colleagues in the office had balloons and signs praising the volunteers and cheered them on. As volunteers were leaving to make their deliveries, they were sent off with the sirens from Auburn Police Department and Cayuga County Sheriff's Office vehicles. Other program volunteers were set to be honored the same way Wednesday.

Though the sentiment may seem cheesy, Dungey said, she truly believes the drivers who have stepped up to help out during the respiratory illness outbreak are superheroes. She said many of their usual volunteers, some of whom are in their 80s, are not currently driving because of virus exposure risk. Some of the new drivers have been furloughed from their jobs; others have flexible work schedules or were otherwise willing and able to help.

"I would say all of them drove once and said 'I love doing this and I want to keep doing it,'" Dungey said. "They love serving the people, they love meeting the folks. They feel like they're getting more out of the experience than the recipients are getting."

New safety protocols have been established for deliveries, such as volunteers hanging the recipient's food on their door with a plastic bag. Volunteers wait for the recipients to come to the door, and if a recipient is taking a long time, they will be called to ensure they are OK. Drivers are using hand sanitizer before and after each stop, and all are wearing masks.

The county aging office said volunteers make deliveries to over 250 people on six county routes every weekday, with an extra seven Auburn routes on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays and additional routes in Fair Haven, Locke and Moravia.

Dungey said seeing new people pitch in under the circumstances has been heartwarming.

"I've only been doing this job about a year, and right from the get-go the best part of it has been the volunteers," she said. "They tell me part of my role is to be supportive of the volunteers and I think putting on a cape and mask and acting a little goofy once in a while is a small price to pay to say thank you."

Dungey added that that she feels the program's volunteers are silent heroes within the community for making sure homebound seniors get "a hot meal every day, a friendly greeting and a really important safety check.

"I'm not sure how some of these folks would be managing if they didn't have the daily food delivery," Dungey said.

Jay Woodard, a program volunteer for around two years, said after the surprise that he appreciated the gesture.

"It was a very nice sign of appreciation," he said. "We do go out in some pretty nasty conditions some days, but we do what we like to do because there are people out there depending on us, not only just to bring a meal to them but also for some personal contact and the fact that a lot of days we're the only people that those people see."

Woodard said he feels volunteers' chances of contracting the virus are low due to the safety precautions, which he feels are important for drivers to follow. He felt volunteering was still necessary despite the new, potentially dangerous circumstances.

"The need is still there, that hasn't changed. I mean, maybe the distribution has changed a little bit, the way we have to conduct ourselves, but the need is still there," he said. "That did not change, that did not go away."