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URMC temporarily closes Sawgrass surgical center due to staffing needs

urmc.rochester.edu

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a change at an outpatient surgery center at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

URMC says that it will temporarily close the Sawgrass center for outpatient surgery center beginning Wednesday, Jan. 6.

UR Medicine says this will free up staff members at Sawgrass who can be redeployed for inpatient care, enabling UR Medicine hospitals to maintain needed capacity as the current surge in COVID-19 cases continues. More details are expected to be released on Monday.

In state data on the coronavirus released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, the Finger Lakes continued to have an infection rate above 10%.  The seven-day average is now at 10.35%, which has the Finger Lakes with the second highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the state. The Mohawk Valley has a slightly higher rate.

The percentage of hospital beds available in the Finger Lakes region is at 31%. The percentage of ICU beds available in the area is at 27%.

Cuomo released a statement saying that one of the most pressing challenges, along with maintaining diligence in stopping the spread of the virus, will be to ensure that the vaccine is made available fairly. 

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"COVID has exposed many of the existing injustices in our society, most notably that racism is, without a doubt, a public health crisis,” Cuomo stated.

Cuomo said that data has continued to show that despite higher infection and death rates in the Black and Latino communities, testing has remained more widely available in white communities, stating, “To break down barriers and ensure vaccine access for all, I will not take the vaccine until it is available for my age group in Black, Hispanic, and poor communities around the state."

Cuomo made similar comments in a videotaped message to the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a historic Black search in New Y ork City. The comments were played on Sunday morning.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.