Guidance from the NYS Dept of Health

Are You Looking for Guidance from New York State Department of Health?

The recommendations are changing rapidly for COVID-19. Keep yourself updated by visiting the New York State Department of Health website.

Click the links and scroll up or down on the NYSDOH page to find the latest information.

Governor Cuomo- Daily Updates

Essential Business or Entity Guidance

Insurance, Price Gouging, Mortgage and Rent Information

Not finding what you are looking for?

Call the NYS COVID- 19 Hotline: 1-888-364-3065

Still not finding what you need?

Email Ontario County Public Health: MailtoOntarioCountyPublicHealth

(Updated 9/3/2020)

June 15, 2021 Update

On June 15, 2021,Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that COVID-19 restrictions are lifted immediately as 70 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 or older have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccination series. The State's health guidance and New York Forward industry specific guidelines—including social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, health screening, and contact information for tracing—are now optional for retail, food services, offices, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment, hair salons, barber shops and personal care services, among other commercial settings. 

Unvaccinated individuals continue to be responsible for wearing masks, in accordance with federal CDC guidance. Consistent with the State's implementation of the recent CDC guidance, masks are still required for unvaccinated individuals. Further, the State's health guidelines continue to be in effect for large-scale indoor event venues, pre-K to grade 12 schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and health care settings per CDC guidelines.

Nursing Home Visitation Update

Per New York State Department of Health , nursing home visitation is based on the COVID-19 positivity rate can begin on February 26, 2021.

COVID-19 county positivity rates, found on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard will be used to determine when visitation should be opened and paused. When the county positivity rate is high (>10%), visitation must only occur for compassionate care situations according to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention and facility policies.

COVID-19 visitor testing may be required based on the county COVID-19 positivity rate. Visitors must either: present a negative COVID-19 test result from within the past seventy-two hours (72), or facilities may utilize rapid testing to meet the testing requirement. Additionally, all visitors must adhere to all infection control practices. Please contact the nursing home prior to the visit to ask about the new visitation guidelines.

NYSDOH Nursing Home Guidance

(Updated 2/23/2021)

Updated School Medical Guidance for Schools

The updated Pre K- Grade 12 Toolkit with all changes highlighted. These changes apply to all in-person or hybrid students, faculty and staff:

All quarantine and isolation requirements have been reduced from 14 days to 10 days
Release from isolation is now based on a 10 day isolation and resolution of symptoms OR release from isolation by the local health department
Click the link below to download & print the NYSDOH COVID-19 Medical Guidance for Schools

COVID-19 Information for Re-opening Schools

Parents and College Students, Keep Current with COVID-19 Data

Two new data dashboards are being released to monitor COVID-19 at SUNY colleges and universities and local schools.

New York State launched a COVID tracker to monitor cases at SUNY colleges and universities. The Department of Health will be issuing regulations to require colleges to notify the state when they have 100 COVID-19 cases and could have to transition to remote learning. To address, monitor and mitigate the spread of COVID across SUNY, New York also launched a case tracker database for SUNY's 64 colleges and universities. Updated daily, the dashboard will provide case counts for each individual campus, among other data.

SUNY COVID-19 Tracker

NYSDOH Dashboard for COVID-19 in schools will be up and running when data starts to come into the system. (9/9/2020)

COVID-19 School Dashboard

October 9, 2020-Student Athletes and Face Coverings

Are school athletes required to wear a face mask while competing? Yes. This is unless the student athlete can not tolerate a face covering for the physical activity. The coaches, trainers, and other people not playing are required to wear a face covering.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) guidance states:

General Considerations (All Sports):

Responsible Parties must ensure a distance of at least six feet is maintained among individuals at all times, whether indoor or outdoor, unless safety or the core activity (e.g. practicing, playing) requires a shorter distance. If a shorter distance is required, individuals must wear acceptable face coverings, unless players are unable to tolerate a face covering for the physical activity (e.g. practicing, playing); provided, however, that coaches, trainers, and other individuals who are not directly engaged in physical activity are required to wear a face covering.

(Updated 10/22/2020)

COVID-19 Information for People with Disabilities

COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning how it spreads, the severity of illness it causes, and to what extent it may spread in the United States.

Disability alone may not be related to higher risk for getting COVID-19 or having severe illness. Most people with disabilities are not inherently at higher risk for becoming infected with or having severe illness from COVID-19. However, some people with disabilities might be at a higher risk of infection or severe illness because of their underlying medical conditions. All people seem to be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 if they have serious underlying chronic medical conditions like chronic lung disease, a serious heart condition, or a weakened immune system. Adults with disabilities are three times more likely than adults without disabilities to have heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer than adults without disabilities. (Updated 7/20/2020)

Learn more:

Ontario County Healthcare Offices!

Are you looking for specific COVID-19 guidance for your healthcare facility?

New York State Department of Health releases guidance to healthcare workers and entities via the Health Commerce System (HIN). The notifications are under the "Important Health Notifications" section. Each provider office should have one representative that receives these notifications.

Still struggling? Email: MailtoOntarioCountyPublicHealth

(Updated 5/19/2020)