By JOHN WHITTAKER

jwhittaker@post-journal.com

COVID-19 seemed to make barely a ripple here in Chautauqua County for months — especially once the weather warmed up last spring.

But, colder weather, two variants of the COVID-19 virus and a surge in cases brought COVID from the back of our collective minds right back to the forefront of every discussion. A look at the stories that grabbed readers’ attention, however, is a reminder that we dealt with COVID-19 and its aftermath all year even as cases reached their lowest levels.

OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce Pictured is Paul Nocek of Lucky Lanes in Fredonia.

January and February were among the worst months of the pandemic for Chautauqua County.

THREE DAYS OF AGONY

On the holiday weekend of Jan. 16 to 18, the horror and cruelty of the pandemic was front and center for those connected to the Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk. On the outside, area families with loved ones as patients at the location were dealing with a sense of hopelessness, despair and uncertainty.

Inside the facility was just as heart-wrenching. “I am still in the ‘red zone,'” a patient who was surrounded by others who had tested positive wrote regarding that weekend to the OBSERVER. “Most everyone is in the red zone here.”

Confined to section 1A, that patient is 92-year-old Betsy Standera. She was a witness to the most excruciating and painful days at the Temple Road location. She saw the best from a staff caring for those at the facility who at the same time were dealing with the worst possible outcomes.

“There must be a better part of the facility that I have not seen,” wrote Standera, who said earlier this week she had not contracted the virus. “The obituary list in the paper is everyone I know.”

How state officials dealt with COVID-19 in nursing homes has been hotly debated for the better part of nearly two years. The reasons why were shown last February. Through the first six weeks of 2021, there had been 50 deaths recorded at nursing homes. Seven of the deaths were reported at Absolut Care of Westfield; 24 at Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk; 11 at Heritage Green in Greenhurst; and eight at Heritage Village in Gerry.

Jan. 18 is the darkest of days in the facility during this crisis.

“I took a walk around,” Standera writes. “Everybody is missing.”

Those residents were all acquaintances — and like family to her. “I could tell you a story about every person on Page 2 (the obituary page),” she writes. “They were all my friends.”

Many in Chautauqua County were eagerly awaiting access to a COVID-19 vaccination early in 2021 — a far cry from the situation as the year came to a close.

In February, it appeared the federal government wanted to place a vaccination center in Chautauqua County at a time when access to the vaccine was limited. NBC News reported early Monday morning that the Biden Administration had begun looking for sites for four small vaccination centers in New York state. Federal officials ranked the best spots based on a county-by-county index that measures average income, unemployment, race and a dozen other factors.

The data said Chautauqua County was a leading candidate to get vaccine shots to under-served people, but state officials, according to the national news outlet, disagreed.

“The state prevailed,” said a federal official who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

State officials pushed back on the report almost immediately.

“FEMA and the CDC set forth criteria for which counties and communities were eligible based on social vulnerability index and vaccination rates, as well as, other factors put forward by the federal government, and dozens of locations across the state met those criteria,” he said in a statement. “We wish we had the supply to do a site in each of those locations. It is false that any plans for a mass vaccination site in Chautauqua County were canceled, and the state is unaware of any such plans for such a site. None existed.

Vaccination remained a hot topic throughout the year. Early vaccination clinics, once they were scheduled in Chautauqua County, filled up within minutes in the spring. Then, all at once, vaccine demand cooled and the protesting over vaccine requirements began.

RETURN TO ‘NORMAL’

Business owners haven’t forgotten the shutdowns and limitations placed upon them during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In April, the OBSERVER caught up with Paul Nocek of Lucky Lanes in Fredonia. While happy to be open, Nocek said then that the cars in the parking lot painted a deceiving picture.

“It looks busier than it is,” Nocek said. “We’re only allowed to use every other lane, so our peak right now is half full.”

Lucky Lanes still can’t hold a lot of the normal activities usually held there, such as holiday parties, the Special Olympics, family gatherings, or any tournaments at all, but Nocek said that there have still been some groups able to turn up.

“We did squeeze in high school bowling,” Nocek said. “And Unified Bowling is going on now too. That’s something and it definitely helps but the restrictions have been brutal.”

Those restrictions, which consist of being at half capacity using every other lane, mask wearing, and social distancing also includes a closing time, that had been set at 10 p.m., but has since been moved to 11 p.m. every night, which Nocek said has helped the league bowlers who are still coming out. And because of the limited availability of the lanes, Nocek said that he has had to make groups wait, as all of his open lanes are unavailable due to distancing regulations.

As for how rough things have been, Nocek estimated that Lucky Lanes brought in somewhere between a quarter and a third of their yearly revenue, but has noticed more people starting to come out, which is the result of a few factors, including the vaccine availability and a little cabin fever.

“It seems like people are starting to gain a little confidence now that the vaccine is out,” Nocek said. “And I think they’re just tired of it. They’ve been in for a year, all last summer and all through winter. I’m starting to see people come out I haven’t seen since last year, and people bowling in leagues that didn’t last year.”

Though Lucky Lanes was able to open back up in September 2020, it won’t be until the bowling season that began just recently that Nocek expected business to be back to normal.

“The season is going to be done when things start opening but by fall season, everything should be back to normal,” Nocek said. “I don’t think people want to do this again. I’m hoping that the other states opening up aren’t seeing huge spikes so New York can start opening more too.”

THE SURGE RETURNS

Late November brought with it the return of concerns over the number of people in Chautauqua County hospitals due to COVID-19. The Nov. 23 update from the Chautauqua County Health Department showed 50 people were hospitalized compared to 23 people hospitalized in stats released the week before.

On Jan. 13, 2021, there were 57 people with the virus in the hospital in the county, the highest during the pandemic.

“The Delta strain of the coronavirus is very contagious and is especially making those unvaccinated very, very ill,” said Christine Schuyler, County Public Health Director. “I’m saddened and frustrated to see so many people struggling to breathe, hospitalized, going on ventilators, and many survivors left dealing with long-term health impacts. If you are not vaccinated, you are really taking a chance.”

According to numbers provided by the state Health Department through Sunday, Dec. 14, UPMC Chautauqua reported all 68 staffed beds were filled, including six in intensive care. Brooks-TLC Health System noted 31 of 35 beds were filled as well as the seven in intensive care. Smaller Westfield Memorial, with six beds, had five patients as of Sunday.

“That’s the reality,” he said. “I faced it. Christine couldn’t have said it any better (in the paper) — it’s scary to be sick right now. Have a heart attack — yeah, that’s scary — because you need immediate care. Right now, it will happen, but your critical level is going to change. Those are the worst parts. What we’re seeing is Olean General being on a delay, so patients from Olean choosing or ambulances coming to UPMC Chautauqua. We were not a tertiary care center, but it is said we are becoming one because we are getting patients from other facilities that are taxing our system as well,” County Executive PJ Wendel told The OBSERVER in early December.

RETURN OF THE MASK(S)

Gov. Kathy Hochul took over the governor’s office in late August. On Sept. 15, she announced the first of what would be a series of COVID-19 requirements.

The September order applied to New York State Office of Children and Family Services-licensed and -registered child care centers, home-based group family and family child care programs, after-school child care programs and enrolled legally exempt group programs during operational hours. Implementing the mask regulation in child care programs will provide consistency between child care program children and school children, many of whom often share the same buildings.

December brought a statewide mask mandate for all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.

“We’re entering a time of uncertainty and we could either plateau here or our cases could get out of control,” Hochul warned at a public appearance in New York City.

The rule will last at least until Jan. 15, and enforcement is in the hands of local counties. County Executive PJ Wendel questioned the county’s ability to enforce the mask mandate, which came with the possibility of civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000.

“Our position is the county does not have the resources to send out health inspectors (or others) … to find out who’s not going to comply,” he said during a phone call Monday.

Even though Wendel sees the mask mandate as unenforceable, he still wants to see residents comply with what the business asks.

“You’re using force to try to enforce something that hasn’t been real successful. We don’t support that,” he said.