As I write this column there are 450 positive cases of COVID-19 in the Town of Warwick. While population-wise this puts us in the lower third of the cases in Orange County, it is still a number that is too high. It reinforces the need for all of us to continue our efforts to abide by all the guidelines necessary to end the spread of the disease. Wear your mask, wash your hands, avoid unnecessary trips and stay home if you are sick. That’s how we beat it until a vaccine is readily available. Hopefully soon the Governor will articulate his plan to re-open; however, in conjunction with the County, the Mayors of our three Villages and myself are working with our chambers to ensure businesses that do re-open do so safely.
Mayor Newhard and I were on a call last week with the Chief Operating Officer of Bon Secours, the Chief Medical Officer and Anita Volpe, the Administrator of St. Anthony Community Hospital. We were assured St. Anthony’s and the other Bon Secours’ hospitals are doing well, handling the patient load, protecting their employees and winning the fight against COVID-19. They were very grateful for all the support from our community, from all the meals being sent, local sources of personal protection equipment and the tremendous display by the fire, police and ambulance departments that saluted their workers! We are so very fortunate to have these brave health professionals in our Town.
Just a reminder – Town Hall offices are closed to the public at this time. The lobby remains open with drop boxes to leave forms, water and sewer payments, Building Department applications, etc. Most forms and applications are online at www.townofwarwick.org. Please be advised we are not accepting any cash payments at this time. Please pay by either check or money order.
The next regular meeting of the Town Board, as per Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.1, will be closed to the public but can be viewed live via the Zoom app on Thurs., May 14 at 7:30 p.m. A link to the meeting will be placed in our official newspaper, the Warwick Valley Dispatch, and on www.townofwarwick.org. All future meetings will be conducted in this manner until the Governor’s order is lifted.
The above column, written by Warwick Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton, has been published in the Apr. 29 issue of the Warwick Valley Dispatch.
