From the desk of City Manager Sarah Purdy...
COVID-19 UPDATE
April 15, 2020
Earlier today Governor Cuomo announced he is issuing an Executive Order that everyone in New York State must wear a mask or a cloth covering their mouth and nose if they are going to be in public and will not be able to maintain social distancing. He further stated that New Yorkers will have three days to come into compliance with this order.
This order means many things. It means that if you go anywhere and are not able to stay six feet away from other people, you must wear a mask. That includes people going to the grocery store and employees of the grocery store. It means that if you work for an entity that is still considered an essential service and you are an essential employee, if you can’t maintain six feet between yourself and your fellow employees, all of you will need to wear masks.
Because this applies to all situations when anyone is out in public, it means our City employees also will have to wear masks when we cannot maintain six feet of distance. Many of our employees already are wearing masks. With most of our facilities closed to the public right now, it is easier to comply with this Executive Order than it otherwise would be. But it is obvious from the Governor’s announcement today that one of the reasons for this Executive Order is for everyone to remain COVID-19 free when New York State starts to reopen. We can all expect that seeing each other in masks at work, at school, at City Hall, and when we are out and about will be part of the new normal.
Here at City Hall we are talking now about we as employees, and how you as members of the public will adhere to this Executive Order when City Hall reopens to the public someday in the future. There are a lot of logistics to consider. Ultimately, we will develop a policy for approval by the City Council. You will see the proposed policy before it is adopted and will have the opportunity to give us your feedback on it. We will need your feedback because all of us, together, will need to adopt this policy. In reality, it is a small price to pay in order to be able to safely get back up and running.
On another note, the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department’s daily COVID-19 update on the number of cases in our county and the location by municipality of these cases has become a very important document in our lives. Many of us either go to the County’s website or to news media websites to access it. The SLC Public Health Department is to be commended for providing this information every day; not every county in our State is providing the same level of detail. Right now, if you got to the Public Health website you find a note that indicates the Department is working to enhance the data it releases, and will have the new reports out soon. We can all look forward to that, and we can also say “thank you” to the SLC Public Health Department for the great job they are doing.
Be hopeful, stay safe, stay healthy and stay together yet six feet apart. “Take 5 for New York” by calling someone and chatting for five minutes. To access the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department’s information, please click here.
And please see below several other links to COVID-19 information that you may find useful.
Department of Labor Cares Act Information
US Small Business Administration
St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency
Governor Cuomo’s Website
New York State Department of Health
Protect Yourself & Stop the Spread of Germs
What You Need to Know
Please revisit this page for important updates from the City of Ogdensburg.