In a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig discussed the importance of re-opening college campuses in allowing host cities such as Oneonta to recover from the COVID-19 shutdown.The mayor warns, however, that, “Re-opening our college campuses will require an aggressive program of testing for all students attending our residential colleges” and that “Having adequate testing materials available for students of both our public and private colleges must be a priority”.In his letter, Mayor Herzig stated that while Oneonta is currently developing strategies for its full economic and cultural recovery, that recovery will be dependent upon the availability of adequate testing materials and effective protocols for testing all of our 7,000 visiting college students

In his letter to the governor, Mayor Herzig states:  "With 7,000 college students, without a program of mandated testing, to a community with very little immunity place too many lives at risk-a risk supported by the recently released Cornell University study ranking Otsego County as the third most vulnerable to an outbreak in New York State."

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