By Tom Precious

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

Health officials from Buffalo to downstate are cautiously watching the spread of the Delta variant, which has hit states with lower vaccination rates, contributed to Wall Street’s slide on Monday and increased worries at the Olympic Village in Tokyo.

Now, with nearly 9,000 newly infected New Yorkers in the past 10 days, some officials wonder: Is it time to restore mandatory, or at least recommended, mask policies for people, regardless of their vaccination status, in indoor public settings in New York State?

By Mary B. Pasciak

Read the full article from Buffalo Newz, here.

That will involve providing a host of strategies to bring each student up to grade level during the school year, while also identifying learning gaps and providing additional help to bridge those gaps.

Once classes begin in September, each student in Buffalo will be screened to identify what skills need to be retaught to get them up to grade level, according to a report recently released by the school district.

By Deidre Williams

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

Buffalo is slated to receive $331 million in federal stimulus funding. Half of the windfall arrived last month. The second payment is expected to come next year. All of the funds must be spent within the next four years. The Common Council will hold a public meeting for the community to weigh in on the spending.

By Dale Anderson

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

Only one person died statewide from Covid-19 on Saturday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reported Sunday, matching the lowest number New York State has registered since the pandemic began.

By Barbara O’Brien

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

The state Health Department updated the guidance because of the “current low rates of Covid-19 transmission,” it said in an email to school districts.

Schools and districts may implement the masking policies for child care, day camp and overnight camp programs, the state said. That guidance says that unvaccinated children “are strongly encouraged but not required to wear face coverings indoors as feasible.”

By Sandra Tan

Read the full article from Buffalo News, here.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz first announced on May 11 that the county had contracted with Buffalo Homecare and the Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York to deliver and administer the vaccine to the homes of eligible residents who request it, regardless of whether they are homebound.