Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard reminds residents the Erie County Sheriff's Office domestic violence unit is working and available to assist victims.

The Island Dispatch for April 3, 2020.

When business teachers Cheryl Chamberlain asked her entrepreneur class what to do with the snack inventory at their high school store, Casey's Corner, students replied "donate it!"

The Grand Island Memorial Library will be closed to the public for the duration until further directives are received from the governor.

Please be advised: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with executive order 202.1, members of the public will not be permitted to attend the board meeting in person, and members of the board of education will attend the meeting remotely on Monday, April 6.

Erie County Medical Center Corp. executive leadership stood Friday with its dedicated nurses, calling on the federal government to utilize the Defense Production Act to make personal protection equipment (PPE) for caregivers here and across the country.

Eligible COVID-19 patients at Buffalo General Medical Center and Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital will begin participating in a number of FDA-approved experimental therapy options as early as this week. These therapies include a clinical trial of the arthritis medication, sarilumab; convalescent plasma infusions for critically ill patients as a way of introducing antibodies from individuals that have fully recovered from COVID-19; and the use of a promising antiviral medication, Remdesivir.

Social Services Commissioner Marie Cannon is reminding Erie County residents that they do not have to (and are not advised to) visit Social Services offices to access the assistance programs the department offers. Programs can either be accessed online or by requesting an application over the phone.

Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard recently issued warning about area parks and recreational areas.

Parents: If your child doesn't have access to the Easter coloring contest found in our newspaper, or if you are looking for an additional entry form, please feel free to download the poster HERE (PDF).

As of noon today, we have received reports of 499 total positive COVID-19 cases in Erie County residents. Eight Erie County residents have died, and 53 people have recovered. There are currently 438 people in isolation.

The Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry announced disc golf courses at Chestnut Ridge, Emery, Ellicott Creek and Como Lake parks will be closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to concerns about safe social distancing while playing. New signage will be installed at each disc golf course advising of the closing, and baskets will be removed and stored until the courses are reopened.

Across New York, it is estimated there are more than 400,000 individuals living with some type of dementia, with another 1 million-plus people providing some kind of care for them. Their needs for access to help, support and education are ongoing.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, District Attorney John J. Flynn is reminding the residents of Erie County about resources that remain available for victims of domestic violence.

While the coronavirus pandemic is causing fear, it is also inspiring beautiful acts of kindness. Associates at Kenmore Mercy Hospital were recently greeted with uplifting chalk messages on the sidewalk from a local family.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday announced all "New York State on PAUSE" functions will be extended for the next two weeks. He also directed the state nonessential workforce to continue to work from home for an additional two weeks, through April 15. The state will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.

As of Friday at 8 p.m., we have identified 89 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Erie County residents for a total of 310 reported cases. There are 52 individuals admitted to hospitals in Erie County for COVID-19.

Six local newsrooms in New York were selected to receive almost $30,000 in funding - CNY Latino, Examiner Media, Niagara Frontier Publications, Spotlight Newspapers, Wallkill Valley Publications Inc., and Watertown Daily Times, with each of these recipients getting $5,000. In this first round, 50 local newsrooms across the U.S. and Canada are receiving $5,000 grants to help cover unexpected costs associated with covering the crisis in their communities. Additional recipients will be announced in the coming weeks.

•We have received reports of 31 Erie County residents who are hospitalized as of yesterday due to COVID-19. As of today, at noon, we have had 166 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Erie County residents.

The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) is announcing there was one death attributable to COVID-19 in Erie County in the past 24 hours. The individual was a male in his 70s.

Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard on Tuesday announced the following COVID-19-related updates:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo didn't mince words with the media in his press conference Tuesday. He said the time has come for the federal government to make ventilators more accessible to the medical professionals fighting COVID-19 in New York.

Neighbors, during these challenging times we want to remind our Grand Island friends that the Neighbors Foundation is here to help provide food for those that are in temporary need. Please call 773-7476 or 773-1452 for assistance.

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and still assist motorists who need to surrender their vehicle's license plates, Erie County Clerk Michael P. Kearns is introducing a new procedure due to the temporary suspension of services at all auto bureau locations.

In light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and the prolonged closure of area schools, many essential front-line workers are struggling to get to work because they lack sufficient child care arrangements.

The Erie County Department of Health has confirmed an additional five cases of COVID-19 in Erie County residents since yesterday, March 23. This brings our case total to date to 101.

Parents: If your child doesn't have access to the Easter coloring contest found in our newspaper, or if you are looking for an additional entry form, please feel free to download the poster HERE (PDF).

Kaleida Health continues to prioritize testing its own workforce to ensure it maintains the health and well-being of its staff. It has been conducting its own COVID-19 employee testing for the past few days.

The New York State Department of Health has instructed hospitals across the state to update their recently submitted "surge" pandemic plans. The goal is to increase hospital inpatient bed capacity by 50% to help fight the ongoing coronavirus health crisis.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce announced this week the 2020 Citizen of the Year award recipients are as follows:

Monday morning, Town of Grand Island Supervisor John Whitney issued a proclamation to address the COVID-19 threat and declared a local state of emergency within the Town of Grand Island.

The Grand Island Memorial Library will be closed to the public through Tuesday, March 31, at 8 p.m. as per recommendations from the county executive in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Erie County Department of Health is releasing results of reports from COVID-19 testing on individuals in Erie County. There are currently 36 lab confirmed cases in Erie County residents as of noon today. Additional tests are being run by our Public Health Lab and commercial labs and results will be released when available.

Thousands of their doctors, nurses, ancillary and support staffs are working tirelessly to care for patients. Their efforts are nothing short of heroic. As they know better than anyone, flattening the curve is crucial to managing hospital surge.

Kaleida Health released the following updates and reminders Thursday regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic: