March 15, 2020 Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel declared a State of Emergency. The date was March 12, 2020. Local, county and state officials gathered at Fredonia Village Hall, standing shoulder to shoulder, no masks in site, to discuss the novel coronavirus that was dominating much of the national and international headlines after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. SUNY Fredonia was sending its students home for the remainder of the semester and Jamestown Community College was shifting to on-line learning. The overarching message at that press conference was “Don’t panic. We’re keeping an eye on this.” There were 325 cases in New York state, but the closest known case was in Monroe County, two hours away by car. There were no known cases throughout the 57th Senate District, which includes Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.