Tag: Coronavirus

Mar 24

2020

Push on to release some county prisoners

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Updated: 6:30 p.m.Nearly 600 men and women are incarcerated in close quarters in Erie County’s two jails, at risk of catching the deadly COVID-19 virus.More than half are being held on bail, yet to be found guilty of a crime. Others are jailed on parole violations or serving sentences of up to one year.What’s it going to take to get at least some of them released?County officials, both County Executive Mark Poloncarz and a spokesman for Sheriff Tim Howard, said Monday they lack the authority to release anyone.“We can’t just let someone out,” said Scott Zylka, a spokesman for Howard.[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 22

2020

COVID-19: Arrests plummet in Buffalo

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Updated: 2:36 p.m.Crime is way down in the City Of Buffalo since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.The number of daily arrests before the pandemic typically exceeded 20 a day, including a recent high of 37 on March 6. Arrests since Thursday have ranged from two to eight a day.Police say there’s one primary reason for the drop: businesses, which can be a magnet for criminal activity, have mostly closed. “A lot of commerce has stopped,” said Captain Jeff Rinaldo. “A lot of crime occurs around commerce. If you don’t have commerce, you don’t have crime.”Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday 100 percent[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 19

2020

Hospitals curtail non-emergency surgeries

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All major hospitals in the Buffalo area have canceled elective surgeries to conserve dwindling supplies of blood and protective gear, such as face masks, that are needed to treat victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.Surgeons at Catholic Health and the Erie County Medical Center began canceling elective surgeries earlier in the week. Kaleida Health followed suit with a decision Thursday to cancel non-emergency surgeries effective today. Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center announced it would take the same measure, effective Friday evening.The embargo on all non-essential procedures comes as hospitals seek to limit staff and patient exposure to coronavirus and brace for[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 19

2020

COVID-19 expected to worsen Buffalo finances

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The coronavirus, and the attendant slowdown of the local economy, could not arrive at a worse time for the City of Buffalo’s finances. The likely decline in county sales tax — Buffalo’s share of which is a critical portion of the city’s budget — could contribute to a deficit when the fiscal year ends June 30.Early spring is the worst period of the year for the City of Buffalo’s cash flow, as Investigative Post reported last year. The city comptroller’s office projected the city would run a positive cash flow balance of $3.5 million for February, and that number is likely to[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 18

2020

3 county inmates being observed for COVID-19

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Three inmates being held in Erie County jails have been isolated and placed under observation after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.The three people self-reported signs of upper respiratory infections during the intake process, the Sheriff’s Office medical director said in a video message released to the media Wednesday afternoon. These inmates are being housed separately from the general jail population. The Sheriff’s Office did not specify they’re in the Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo or the Correctional Facility in Alden.  The sheriff’s medical team contacted the Erie County Department of Health regarding one of the inmates. The Department of Health didn’t[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 18

2020

US, Canada banning most cross-border travel

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Updated Wednesday at 6:58 p.m.Canada and the United State have agreed to ban most cross-border traffic to counter the COVID-19 virus.Customs officials on both sides of the border are expected to implement the ban at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Peace Bridge General Manager Ron Rienas told Investigative Post. Truck traffic will still be permitted as to not disrupt trade, but car crossings will be limited to essential travel, he said. Travelers returning to their home country will be permitted entry, he said. Other details are still being worked out.Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe & Mail, reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 18

2020

Health care system ill-prepared for Coronavirus

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo told New Yorkers Tuesday the state’s health care system will likely be pushed beyond its limits battling the coronavirus pandemic.Current projections indicate ventilators and hospital beds could be in short supply during the outbreak’s estimated peak in 45 days, Cuomo said during a press conference.New York already has precious little unused capacity to handle the expected wave of patients, according to a report on ventilator distribution issued in 2015 by the state Department of Health.The report, the most recent assessment Investigative Post has been able to obtain, said an estimated 85 percent of the ventilators, or 6,154,[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Mar 17

2020

Virus prompts changes in court proceedings

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County and state court proceedings entered unchartered territory Tuesday, consolidating operations in downtown Buffalo and handling only arraignments of jailed defendants via video conference.The changes were implemented after a statewide memorandum ordered the cessation of non-essential functions, effective 5 p.m. Monday. “It is hectic,” Andrew Isenberg, the Eighth Judicial District Executive, who oversees all regional court matters, told Investigative Post in an email. “Our entire society has been turned upside down and that now includes our criminal justice system and, frankly, our entire court system,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn. In Erie County, all arraignments are happening via video conference calls that[...]

Posted 5 years ago
Investigative Post