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(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) On Saturday Broome County Executive Jason Garnar and Broome County Public Health Director Rebecca Kaufman confirmed the first COVID-19 related death in a Broome County Hospital. That hospital is Lourdes Hospital. This is a new confirmed case in addition to those announced earlier this week. 

The Broome County Health Department is getting in touch with anyone who may have been in contact with the individual. The investigation is ongoing. No additional information is being released at this time due to patient privacy laws. 

Broome County will continue to provide updated numbers on its website at broomecountyny.gov/hd/coronavirus. 

Broome County officials remind you to stay home, avoid contact with others and if you feel sick and do not need immediate assistance please contact your healthcare provider via phone or virtual health with questions prior to heading to the emergency room. 

(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announced Wednesday afternoon most county facilities will be closing completely to the public starting Thursday, March 19, 2020, as part of the County’s response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Here is a complete list of County facilities now closed to the public: 

• Broome County Office Building 
  • Office for Aging 
    • Walk-ins will not be accepted during the closure. Those in need of assistance should call (607) 778-2411.
  • Clerk’s Office 
    • Including DMVs
  • The Legislature Office 
    • Can be contacted by phone at (607) 778-2131 or by e-mail at LegClerk@broomecountyny.gov. 
    • Legislators can be contacted via phone and e-mail. Contact information can be found on the Legislature’s website broomecountyny.gov/legis. 
    • Freedom of Information requests can be sent via e-mail at FOIL.Broome@broomecountyny.gov, through our website broomecountyny.gov/FOIL or by contacting the FOIL Office by phone at (607) 778-2287. Electronic submission of requests is preferred.
  • Office of Management and Budget/Treasury
    • Please mail in tax certificate requests with payment and self-addressed return envelope
    • Please send tax payments by mail, receipts will be mailed back
    • Any requests for certificates of residency should be mailed.
    • OMB’s mailing address is PO Box 1766, 60 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13902
    • To determine the amount of delinquent taxes owed, call (607) 778-2161 or (607) 778- 2238. Receipts will be mailed.
    • For your current tax bill contact Broome County Real Property Tax Services.
  • Personnel
    • Civil Service exams postponed until further notice. Call (607) 778-2185. 
  • Purchasing
    • Those in need of assistance should call (607) 778-2188 and leave a voice message. 
    •  E-mail requests should be sent to Purchasing@broomecounty.us. 
    • Public bid openings will be videotaped and posted to Purchasing’s website. 
    • Bid respondents are to deliver RFB/RFP submittals to Broome County Security. 
  • Real Property Tax Services 
    • Residents who need to make tax payments should call the Real Property Tax Service in advance to determine the details of their payment. Payments should be mailed in. Payments that must be dropped off in person should be deposited in a drop-box located in the lobby of the County Office Building. Call (607) 778-2169 with questions.
  • Security 
    • Call (607) 778-2107 if you need assistance. 
  • Veterans Services 
    • Not taking appointments at this time 
    • If you need assistance call (607) 778-2147. 
• Broome County Dog Shelter
  • Please contact the Dog Shelter or visit their Facebook page for information about adoptions.  
• Broome County DPW Highway 
• Broome County Forum Theatre
• Broome County Health Department 
  • WIC Clinic, Tuberculosis Clinic and Cancer Services Program by appointment only
  • Environmental Health Permits by mail and drop box at entrance 
• Broome County Office for Aging Senior Centers
• Broome County Office of Emergency Services
• Broome County Public Library 
• Career and Community Services Center of Broome County
• En-Joie Golf Club
• Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
• George R. Harvey Justice Building 
  • If you have an appointment with the District Attorney’s office, call (607) 778-2423 for an update.
  •  If you need assistance contact your probation officer with questions, or call (607) 778-2121. 
  • Message from the Public Defender’s Office: Defendants are advised to contact the office by phone to schedule an intake interview at (607) 778-2403.
• Willow Point Rehabilitation and Nursing Center 
  • Willow Point’s restrictions on visitation announced last week remain in effect. 

The following departments remain open: 

•  Board of Elections
  •  Residents should call (607) 778-2172 before arriving.
• Broome County Landfill 
• Broome County Parks 
• Broome County Transit 
• Greater Binghamton Airport 
  • Flights will continue as scheduled.
• The Department of Social Services 
  • As of Monday, March 23, 2020, all consumer appointments at Broome County DSS for non-emergency purposes are suspended.  We will continue providing assistance in our offices to those with emergency needs such as homelessness, eviction, and disconnected utilities. We are encouraging the public to submit applications for services electronically (when available) or by mail.  There is also a drop box that consumers can use to deliver documents.

Changes will be made as we continue to evaluate the situation. You can reach any department by contacting (607) 778-8000

Additionally, following Governor Cuomo’s directive, Broome County reduced its county employees working in county facilities by 50% implementing work from home protocols for many employees as of Wednesday, March 18.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar was joined by District Attorney Michael Korchak and several School Resource Officers (SROs) for an announcement regarding daycare for children of Broome County employees Wednesday morning.

Free childcare is now available for children of Broome County employees and essential healthcare staff from the area who have no other childcare options. It is available for school-age children grades K-5. Staff is provided by the Broome County Office for Aging. Childcare is being provided at the Broome Western Senior Center, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and started today, Wednesday, March 18.

“It is important for us to do everything we can to make sure our Broome County employees can report to work and continue to provide essential needs for the county,” said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar. “Thank you to our various departments who were able to pull this childcare plan together so quickly and thank you to District Attorney Korchak for providing us with additional resources.”

“The recent postponements in the courts and closure of schools have temporarily changed the staffing structure at the D.A.’s Office,” said Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak. The primary duties of our School Resource Officers are to educate, mentor, and protect the students of Broome County, and having these veteran law enforcement officers available, during an emergency, is a tremendous boost to our community. While they won’t be working in their normal school buildings, they will continue serving Broome County in this important role.”

The county will continue to evaluate the opening of additional locations as the need arises. At this time at least two additional potential locations have been identified.

The Broome County Department of Social Services is also working on putting together a task force to monitor open day care spots in Broome County.

(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) Broome County Executive Jason Garnar and Broome County Health Department Director Rebecca Kaufman announced today that county officials have learned of a positive test result for Coronavirus (COVID-19) within Broome County. The test results were confirmed today (March 17, 2020).

The confirmed case is a patient from an outlying county who is being treated in a Broome County hospital. The local health departments are getting in touch with who may have been in contact. No additional information is being released at this time due to patient privacy laws.

In response to this case and continuing recommendations from the state and federal governments,

County Executive Jason Garnar has signed an emergency order to help prevent the spread of this disease. In that order, the County Executive is strongly recommending residents stay home. The order prohibits unnecessary travel, advises to avoid group gatherings and to avoid contact with other people.  The order excludes, but is not limited to, essential travel for example, to work, the grocery store and medical needs.  

Additionally, following Governor Cuomo’s directive, Broome County is reducing county employees working in county facilities by 50% by implementing work from home protocols for many employees starting tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18.

A number of County facilities are now closed to the public:

•     Broome County Office of Employment and Training
•     Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
•     Broome County Forum
•     Broome County Clerk’s Office
•     Broome County DMV Offices at Binghamton and Endicott
•     Broome County Public Library
•     Senior Centers

Additionally, Lourdes and United Health Services health systems are working together to implement visitation protocols and testing criteria.

The County Executive has authorized the return of Summer Hours for County facilities that normally close at 5PM throughout the year. Summer hours will be in effect from March 18, 2020 through September 4, 2020 –  the Friday before Labor Day.

Due to the needs of our residents, our County Clerk’s Office may remain open to members of the public until 4:30PM. The Broome County Legislature will be open until 5PM and Security will be accommodating the department after the building closes at 4:30PM. Please be mindful that the building will also be open during Committee Weeks of the Broome County Legislature and for the regular sessions of the Broome County Legislature.

Buses Will Stop at Locations on Already Existing B.C. Transit Routes

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announced Monday evening that starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020 several B.C. Transit buses will be making stops on their routes at certain Broome-Tioga BOCES’ school meal distribution sites. This effort by Broome County officials was made to assist families with school-age children to be able to get to the distribution sites to pick-up meals for their kids.

The additional Transit stops to accommodate this effort will fall along already scheduled routes. Six total routes will be adding stops.

On Sunday Broome County Executive Jason Garnar was joined by Allen Buyck, District Superintendent and CEO of Broome Tioga BOCES and Mark Bordeau, Senior Food Service Director for Broome Tioga BOCES, to provide details on meal distribution for students during the school closure declared Saturday as part of the County’s response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

All students can receive two meals everyday throughout the week while schools are closed. Every child 18 and under is eligible to receive meals at whichever pick-up location is closest to them. In an effort to encourage social distancing, meals are grab-and-go only. There are 39 total pick-up sites.
Effective tomorrow the below sites will be stopped at on their respective B.C. Transit routes:

• Binghamton – 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. M-F
  • Ben Franklin
  • Binghamton High School
  • Calvin Coolidge Columbus School
  • East Middle School
  • Horace Mann MacArthur Elementary
  • Theodore Roosevelt
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • West Middle School
  • Woodrow Wilson
• 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. M-F
  • Carlisle Apartments
  • Saratoga Heights
• Johnson City – 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. M-F
  • Floral Ave Park
  • North Side Park on Harry L Drive
  • Saint James Food Pantry
  • Johnson City Learning Center
• Maine Endwell – 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. M-F
  • Maine Endwell High School
• Union Endicott – 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. M-F
  • Charles F Johnson School
  • High School
  • Jennie F Snapp MS
• Vestal – 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. M-F
  • Clayton Ave  

For the full schedule of drop off sites click here.

Additional Orders Issued in County’s Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar held a news conference today announcing the signing of two new Emergency Orders related to the county’s response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The first Emergency Order is issued following the Centers for Disease Control guidance issued on March 15, 2020. All large events and mass gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited in Broome County. Examples of large events or mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and other types of assemblies. This order from Broome County does not apply to the day to day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.

The CDC issued the following 3/15/2020:

“Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.

Therefore, CDC, in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.

Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing. When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.

This recommendation does not apply to the day to day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses. This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus. This recommendation is not intended to supersede the advice of local public health officials.”

The second Emergency Order signed by the County Executive directs daycare facilities in Broome County to prioritize open and new slots to children of essential employees.

Essential employees are defined as employees in the public and private sectors with duties and responsibilities, the performance of which is essential to the public’s health, safety and welfare. Examples include, but are not limited to, first responders, health care workers, government employees or sanitation workers.