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Coronavirus coverage

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 ...

COVID levels high in county, masks recommended by CDC

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 requiring ...

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 its ...