A sliver of Niagara County goes 'yellow'

The map the governor posted during his briefing Wednesday placed North Tonawanda and the portion of Wheatfield south of Niagara Falls Boulevard in the yellow zone.

Yellow is the least restrictive of the state's three color-coded classifications for virus outbreaks, with orange the second most severe and red the highest level of restriction.

According to the Niagara County Health Department's online map, North Tonawanda has 71 active cases and Wheatfield has 64. Those are the second- and third-highest totals in the county.

Niagara Falls, the county's most populous community, has 137 active cases but has not been placed in any of the color-coded classifications so far.

"There's minimal restrictions in a yellow zone. It basically means that we are asking our residents to be extra mindful of their actions right now, because the state is watching closer. Our numbers have risen, that is obvious," said Rebecca J. Wydysh, the chairwoman of the Niagara County Legislature.

Wydysh said she thinks the North Tonawanda-Wheatfield area was coded yellow because of proximity to the City of Tonawanda.

"We've seen Tonawanda go into an orange zone, and that is part of the reason North Tonawanda is being included. Their numbers are going up, they adjoin North Tonawanda and there's a lot of crossover," Wydysh said.

She had talks with state officials late Tuesday, but she didn't know for sure what was coming until Cuomo's announcement.

"The governor's assessment that Western New York has not taken this seriously, I don't agree with," Wydysh said. "We have seen 103 of our residents die in Niagara County, and no one takes that lightly. We have had better numbers during the summer and I do agree that people have relaxed a little, especially when it comes to gatherings in their home with friends and family. People have gotten comfortable with that and maybe aren't wearing masks in those situations or getting too many people in those situations that live in different households, but I don't agree that we haven't taken this seriously. I've watched our businesses close, I've watched people be out of work trying to support their families without that income. We've felt the pain here in Western New York, whether he believes that or not, because I've seen it firsthand."

Wydysh and several other county legislators were quarantined as of Nov. 9 because of contact with a so-far-unidentified person who later tested positive for the virus. That occurred during a meeting of the Legislature's Republican caucus Nov. 5. Wydysh said she has had no symptoms and comes out of quarantine Friday. She refused to comment on the health of any other county officials.

"We started having discussions late last evening. I got nothing official until the governor came on, so I heard it with the rest of you," Wydysh said.