Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel has been dealing with the coronavirus for ten months and has watched the COVID numbers rise and subside. Currently, Wendel says, "The numbers are going up."
A rise of infections during the winter was "something that we somewhat expected and were planning for," Wendel acknowledged.
Currently, the county has 42 people hospitalized with COVID-19.
Earlier in the pandemic, some of the county's industrial facilities were dealing with outbreaks of the virus. Wendel says many have learned from those lessons.
"Manufacturing areas are still able to get by because most places are doing a good job of cross-training, making sure there’s more than one person that’s able to fix those problems or take care of emergencies."
Wendel says there’s also the issue of continually urging people to follow the guidance of living with the virus lurking around, looking for a chink in the armor of a county resident who might wind up with a far worse case than some have.
