Yates County Legislature Chairman’s Request to Tourists & Second Home Owners

As part of the effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Chairman of the Yates County Legislature, Douglas Paddock, is asking tourists and second home owners to follow state and federal mandates that people stay home until we get past this pandemic.

Yates County welcomes its seasonal residents and visitors.  In normal times, the county’s emergency services and medical facilities are capable of providing excellent care.  However, these are not normal times.  Because Yates County is rural and has a normal population of approximately 25,000 people, its emergency and medical community are limited in their ability to serve a large number of patients requiring higher levels of care as experienced with COVID-19 and other illnesses.  Our hospital is small and incapable of handling a large influx of patients.  Our stores are likely to have difficulty providing supplies to a large population.

There is no travel ban currently in New York State nor is there a New York State requirement for individuals to be quarantined for fourteen days who are coming back to New York State from another state or anyone coming into Yates County from another county in New York State.  Yates County Public Health Director Deb Minor is alerting any visitor to follow the same precautions set forth for all community members:

Stay home as much as possible.

If you must go out into our community, practice social distancing by maintaining six feet from one another.

If you are ill, isolate yourself and call your healthcare provider.

Wash your hands often.

County Administrator Winona Flynn said, “We understand that this is an unsettling time.  We are focused on decreasing population density.  Together we can slow spread of the virus and protect those at highest risk for serious illness.

“Thank you for your understanding in these unusual times.”