It is a major dilemma when it comes to reopening the economy no matter if it is here or there. As of Monday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, no state region is ready to take that on yet.

That means we are in a situation some elected officials were concerned about. We are being grouped with Erie County, which is a hot spot for the COVID-19 cases.

“It’s unfortunate Chautauqua County is lumped in with the city of Buffalo when we could safely reopen local businesses that are staffed by local employees that serve local residents,” said state Assemblyman Andrew Goodell. “It’s extremely painful to see our local, small businesses dying on the vine while Walmart and other out-of-town big box stores thrive.”

There’s a lot of sense to Goodell’s comments. But here is one reason you could make the case that Chautauqua County is linked to the Buffalo region.

In the north county, there has been a strong trend of positive cases. Twenty-seven of the 37 known illnesses are in that segment. Four are in the east and six are in the south. As of Monday, there were still no cases in the west.

Overall, our numbers fairly low. That being said, Erie County is having an impact — possibly a large one — along the border region. That trend cannot be denied.