County COVID-19 Highlights

Throughout the week, and now in addition to weekly press briefings with Legislative Chairwoman Martha Sauerbrey, COVID-19 statistics are posted sometime after 4 p.m. each day and can be found at www.owegopennysaver.com and at the county’s COVID-19 Resource page, covid19.tiogacountyny.com.

Highlights from the week are posted to inform our readership of the resources available to them as restrictions and the shutdown continues.

On Thursday, Chairwoman Sauerbrey reported that the Tioga County Mental Hygiene Owego Clinic remains open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is providing services remotely by telephone and tele-health (video); remotely offering new Intake Assessments (Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Services), health assessments, individual therapy, psychiatric medication management, Suboxone management, crisis services, and face-to-face services as necessary. 

The Waverly Clinic remains open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for remote therapy and medication management services. 

After hours crisis remains available by phone after 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends by calling (607) 687-1010 and asking for the on-call mental health social worker. 

On Wednesday, April 29, Chairwoman Sauerbrey announced four additional deaths associated with Elderwood Nursing Home. She noted that Tioga County continues to partner with Elderwood and will continue to support them during this difficult time. 

Chairwoman Sauerbrey also reported that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who don’t file tax returns will start receiving their automatic Economic Impact Payments directly from the Treasury Department in early May. 

She added that people receiving SSI benefits that did not file 2018 or 2019 taxes, and have qualifying children under age 17, however, should not wait for their automatic $1,200 individual payment. They should immediately go to the IRS’s website, www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here, and visit the Non-Filers: Enter Your Information section to provide their information. 

SSI recipients who have dependent children and did not file 2018 or 2019 taxes need to act by Tuesday, May 5, in order to receive additional payments for their eligible children quickly, according to Chairwoman Sauerbrey. 

On Tuesday, Chairwoman Sauerbrey reminded residents that although the Tioga County Clerk’s Office is closed to the public, record search is still available online at www.TiogaCountyNY.com.

In addition, if you have documents that must be recorded or filed, place them in an envelope and leave them with the security officer at the Court Annex entrance. The County Clerk’s Office will continue to process documents in a timely manner, according to officials.

If you have any questions, you can contact the County Clerk’s Office at 687-8660. 

On Monday, Chairwoman Sauerbrey reported that Tioga County will no longer report “pending tests” as there are several agencies and labs that report results to the Public Health Department, including labs from out of New York State. 

She also announced on Monday that Catholic Charities of Tioga has expanded their location in Nichols, N.Y. to provide food to those who are in need. Food can be picked up Tuesday through Friday, and deliveries occur every Friday. 

If you would like to get involved by either donation or volunteering, contact Tioga Outreach Assistant Patrick Aquilio at (607) 272-5062 ext. 307, or email to Patrick.Aquilio@dor.org

On Sunday, Chairwoman Sauerbrey informed residents that the Tioga County DMV is able to process new vehicle registrations. If you need new plates or have any questions for the DMV, contact the County Clerk’s Office at 687-8660. 

The Clerk’s Office has staff on hand during business hours to take down your contact information and pass it on to the DMV. The DMV staff will contact you to make arrangements to help you get what you need for your vehicle. 

Finally, the statistics for Tioga County relative to COVID-19 cases on Thursday was holding steady at 98 confirmed cases, 69 individuals in mandatory quarantine, one individual in precautionary quarantine, 31 have recovered, and ten fatalities. (Note that the numbers have changed since we went to print, with the county reporting, as of Saturday, 103 confirmed coronavirus cases, 74 in mandatory quarantine, one individual in precautionary quarantine, and four fatalities.)

These numbers often change by late Friday, and after The Owego Pennysaver moves to print; so visit us online at www.owegopennysaver.com for further updates from the county. We will also be looking for updates at Legislative Chairwoman Sauerbrey’s weekly briefing and will keep our communities informed.

The following are some helpful resources from the county. You can even cut them out and post them somewhere in your home so you have these on hand, or plug them into your browsers or add them to your contact list on your phone.

Resources include https://covid19.tiogacountyny.com, the Tioga County Coronavirus Response Hotline at 687-8225, Facebook @Tioga County Public Health, Facebook @TiogaMH (Tioga County Department of Mental Hygiene), 

Tioga County Public Health Voicemail Line at 687-8623, the New York State Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 (for general questions or information about COVID-19), and the Tioga County Emergency Food Hotline at (607) 354-0965. 

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