Health Department breaks down COVID violations

PLATTSBURGH | With the approaching one-year mark since the start of the global pandemic and lockdown, guidelines have changed how businesses operate. Molly Flynn, the Senior Public Health Educator at the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD), has provided insight into how county businesses have adapted to the changes. In general, businesses have responded very well to the guidelines. Businesses have been good about having staff follow precautions and providing aid to CCHD contact tracers. Many businesses have been keeping records of who was in their business and when, or use security camera footage to help trace potential exposures. When neither of these is available, the CCHD will then use a media release to warn people of potential exposures. "Many complaints or violations have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic," Flynn said. "The follow-up is done differently depending on the type of business, where it is located, and how much information it includes." Flynn went on to explain that anonymous complaints can be hard to follow up as they often contain partial information and no way to reach out to the complainant. Flynn raised to attention that the CCHD is not the lead enforcement officer on the complaints. The complaints usually fall under the jurisdiction of the Code Enforcement Office for the town or city the business is located in. Local law enforcement agencies can also handle the investigation of these complaints. Complaints are investigated depending on how they're reported, what the complaint is, and what type of business it is. "We have seen frustration from people trying to report a complaint to an entity who does not have jurisdiction or enforcement capabilities," Flynn said. The most efficient way to report a complaint and to make sure it's followed up is by the New York State on Pause complaint tool. This tool can be accessed on the New York State Coronavirus website. With this tool, it filters the complaints to make sure they reach the appropriate agency for enforcement. At this time, the total number of businesses in the county that have been fined by the CCHD is one. As far as the CCHD can tell there have been no repeat offenders for violating the COVID-19 guidelines. Currently, the public has no access to the records on what businesses have been in violation of the guidelines.

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Health Department breaks down COVID violations

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