Top county leaders provided an update Tuesday on the reopening plan in our region, how it's going, and looking ahead to Phase 4 during a virtual monthly meeting for members of Visit Rochester.

Visit Rochester has more than 400 members in Rochester and beyond the Finger Lakes region who represent a variety of industries including hotels, restaurants, attractions and events.

"I believe that hospitality is one of the most inclusive industries out there and this community specifically we're committed to welcoming every single person that walks through outdoors."

Nearly 150 of those members from the hospitality industry joined a virtual meeting of the Visitors Industry Council, where the guest speakers included Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, Rochester Chamber of Commerce President Bob Duffy and Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County's commissioner of public health.

"The hospitality industry are gonna be particularly negatively impacted because they're going to be in the last phase of opening."

Many businesses have reopened but not at full capacity. And some small businesses have been struggling with staffing. Duffy says it will be a slow climb back for larger gatherings, and following the protocols in place will be the key to a successful recovery.

"For the tourist professionals here, I think one of the greatest opportunities coming up is it may look different because things are opening slowly but it will come back."

Monroe County saw its lowest number of positive cases over the past few days. Although this is a good sign, the county's public health commissioner says we are not out of the woods.

"We will shift our efforts in the health department now very, very aggressively again in trying to isolate any new cases. We're going to trace back all the way to find out where every case comes from because if we can do this and have no cases of local transmission for two weeks, that will be a major milestone for us."

As our community continues to navigate through challenging times, Visit Rochester says it will remain focused on reopening and recovery.

"It takes a village and I couldn't be, it's so profound that we chose this theme to begin the year and now it's so apropo."