Covid-19 devastates a nursing home amid a get-tough approach to social distancing

Apr. 6--The fear of spreading Covid-19 to seniors -- who already make up three of every four Erie County residents dying from the coronavirus -- received a jolt Sunday when 39 residents at Father Baker Manor nursing home tested positive.

The increase of 22 from the day before helped bring the total number of confirmed cases in Erie County to 1,059. County Executive Mark Poloncarz on Sunday said he believes the actual number to be well over 10 times that number.

The most confirmed cases by ZIP code were found to be 69 in 14215 on the East Side, followed by 14221 in Williamsville. ZIP codes in Hamburg, Amherst, West Seneca, South Buffalo, Cheektowaga and North Buffalo were among the top 10.

Poloncarz said local law enforcement will now be enforcing tough measures against people who ignore Gov. Andrew Cuomo'sMarch 20 PAUSE order with hefty fines and possible imprisonment, including a $10,000 fine and/or one year in prison for nonessential businesses.

As if to make the point more clear, Delaware Park's Ring Road -- one of the most popular gathering spots in the region -- was ordered closed to vehicular traffic to promote social distancing.

"Folks, take it seriously," Poloncarz said. "If we don't stop the spread of the coronavirus, many, many more people will die and thousands upon thousands of people will be hospitalized."

The county's get-tough approach to enforcement comes as it still lags among all other major upstate counties in testing, though Poloncarz expressed confidence the testing situation will improve significantly in the coming days.

The likelihood that the number of active cases won't peak locally until late this month or in May -- followed by weeks or even months of social distancing and government-imposed restrictions on businesses -- is stacking up to mean a longer drain on the Buffalo Niagara economy.

An economic development team with representatives from the public and private sectors is being formed to help guide the county over the next several months, with co-chairs expected to be announced this week.

Most businesses have taken a steep plunge, including independent record stores for whom it's often a rough slog in normal times.

For people wanting to do something to help hospitals, they can consider giving something that's always in short supply -- blood.

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