Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy began today’s briefing by thanking all veterans for their service and their families for their support. He then announced that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County has now climbed to 4,114 to date, an increase of 99 new positive cases since yesterday. Please note that our overall case count will fluctuate as the CommCare records for college students are transferred to the county in which they are isolating for their daily monitoring and then transferred back to Albany County for the final case count.
Additionally, the number of people under mandatory quarantine has increased to 1,492 from 1,437. The five-day average for new daily positives increased to 66 from 55. There are now 416 active cases in the county, up from 367 yesterday. So far, 18,233 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 3,698 of them had tested positive and recovered. Among the new positive cases, 41 had close contact with positive cases, three reported traveling out of state, 42 did not have a clear source of infection at this time, and 13 are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings – though none from Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
There were two new hospitalizations to report overnight, while the number of county residents currently hospitalized due to the virus decreased to 35 from 36. There are five patients in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The hospitalization rate has gone down to 0.85% from 0.89%. There were no new COVID-related deaths to report, and the county’s death toll remains at 144 since the outbreak began.
The County Executive was joined at the press conference by Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen.
"Today marks the single largest daily increase of positive cases since we reported our first cases on March 12th and we have the most people ever under mandatory quarantine as well,” said County Executive McCoy. “We are not moving in the right direction and personal responsibility is a big reason. If you don’t need to go somewhere, don’t. It’s not worth the potential exposure to COVID-19 and continuing to spread it throughout the community.”
Dr. Whalen reminded everyone that an infected person begins shedding the virus two days before he/she may even exhibit symptoms.
“Do the right thing. If you get the call and are told to quarantine, do it. If you test positive and the contact tracer asks where you have been and with whom, be honest,” continued McCoy. “Those answers could help save lives. We are honoring our veterans today for their service to uphold our freedom. Going into quarantine for 14 days and sharing all the information that contact tracers need is not something difficult to ask.”
