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SUNY announces end of COVID-19 vaccine mandate

ALBANY — A COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be mandated for students to attend SUNY’s 64 campuses, effective for summer courses, which coincides with the official end of the national public health emergency by President Joe Biden. Moving forward, COVID-19 vaccinations will be encouraged for students, which is consistent with other viruses including influenza and mpox. Faculty and staff will also be encouraged to stay up to date on vaccinations. “The safety of SUNY’s students is our first and foremost priority, and while COVID is no longer an emergency, we will not lose sight of ...

The community level of COVID-19 within Chautauqua County has been bumped to high — as positive cases of the virus continue to rise and fewer hospital beds are currently available. The bump came either late Thursday or sometime Friday, and means face masks are now recommended indoors in public as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The community level also increased to high in neighboring Cattaraugus and Warren counties. The level already had been high in Erie County. According to the CDC, a county is considered to be at a "high community level" of COVID-19 if it ...

Light impact so far as COVID variant BA.2 spreads in NY

Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett say BA.2 is becoming the dominant strain of COVID-19 in New York, but they do not expect it to create another big wave of infections here. BA.2, a subvariant of omicron, has been gradually increasing as a percentage of positive tests statewide even as the overall number of daily new infections has plummeted in the last two months. It now accounts for 42% of new infections in New York, Bassett said Monday at a news conference with the governor. BA.2 is blamed for a recent, sharp increase of new infections in the United ...

New York is urged to pay public’s ballooning utility debt

ALBANY (AP) — At least 1.4 million households and other residential customers in New York are behind on electric and natural gas bills — a number that soared during the pandemic — and consumer advocates are calling on the state to pay off their ballooning debt with federal funding. In the spring of 2020, New York passed the nation's only utility shut-off moratorium protecting heating, power water, cable and telephone customers. That moratorium expired Dec. 21, though existing state regulations restrict utilities from shutting off heat and electricity until April 15. New ...

Masks optional in many New York schools after mandate ends

BUFFALO (AP) — School districts across New York state, including many of the largest, made mask wearing optional for students and staff beginning Wednesday as a statewide mandate came to an end. Districts in Yonkers, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Albany were among those to stop ...

CDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks

Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing ...