Write a commentThe Oswego County Legislature held a virtual special meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss issues about the coronavirus situation in Oswego County.
The meeting opened with Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang and his staff reporting on the latest updates about the novel coronavirus. The presentation included test results, a report about the use of the Oswego County COVID-19 hotline, the evolution of transmission of the virus, and the steps that the county health department are taking to mitigate the spread of the disease.
Oswego County Administrator Phil Church then reviewed the county’s incident command system (ICS) with the Legislature. The ICS is used to coordination decision-making, logistics, planning, finance and operations during the coronavirus outbreak. He said the votes at the special meeting will strengthen the ICS.
The Legislature established an account dedicated to the COVID-19 response. The group approved a transfer of $500,000 from the county’s fund balance to help pay for expenses already incurred as the county strives to get the critical supplies needed to the front lines of the local health care system. This master account also allows the county to accept funding from additional sources to help in the fight against COVID-19. It provides a single account to track and account for expenses and revenue specific to the coronavirus response.
The second resolution was to accept a grant in the amount of $122,426 from Health Research, Inc. to aid with coronavirus response activities. This funding will be used to support public health staff in incident management, information management, countermeasures and mitigation surge management and bio-surveillance.
The Legislature also voted to accept supplemental public health emergency preparedness funding from Health Research, Inc. This supplemental funding was awarded to all local health departments in New York State to support COVID-19 activities. Oswego County’s allocation is $15,000.
The last resolution of the meeting was to appoint Cathleen Palmitesso as the new director of emergency management in Oswego County. Palmitesso possesses considerable knowledge and experience in emergency management, planning and response. She worked with the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant before working in the Oswego County Emergency Management Office. Her appointment was unanimous and is effective April 1, 2020.
To watch a recording of the Legislature’s virtual meeting go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ELFNINuYGu9umMYQoyKMg/videos.
Residents are asked to continue monitoring reliable sources of information. Go to health.oswegocounty.com/covid-19 for the latest news releases, daily updates, and video presentations. You can also visit oswegocounty.com or health.ny.gov or cdc.gov.
Oswego County presents videos highlighting various COVID-19 topics on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. They are scheduled to be posted by 4:30 p.m. on Oswego County’s COVID-19 YouTube playlist, Facebook and the county government website at oswegocounty.com.
Additional questions can be directed to the Oswego County Health Department COVID-19 hotline at 315-349-3330 or the NYS COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-364-3065.
For more information about emotional supports, visit the Oswego County Department of Social Services Division of Mental Hygiene at www.oswegocounty.com/mentalhygiene.
