Albany County cases steadily increasing

Saratoga County issues advisory after low-risk exposure at Spa bar

Albany County Executive

Dan Mccoy said the counties COVID-19 cases are seeing a steady increase, and he encouraged young adults to get tested.

There are 2,210 positive cases, which is an increase of 20 as of Saturday. There are 882 people in mandatory quarantine.

“We’re steadily going back up. We hit the apex, and we all thought we were getting out of this, or at least it was slowing down, but unfortunately, now we’re going back in the direction we were a few months ago,” Mccoy said.

Among the new positive cases, three were health care workers. One positive case reported a traveler who went to “one of the states they shouldn’t have went to, and came back,” Mccoy said. There are about 30 states that New York has a travel advisory for. People coming from those states must quarantine for 14 days.

About 12 people of the 20 new cases had close contact to a positive case. Three didn’t have a clear connection, and one more tied into the Hudson Avenue Party. A party, which occurred over July 4 weekend on Hudson Avenue, drew over 200 collegeaged students. There are a total of 38 cases that came from that party.

“I’m encouraging that age group to get tested,” Mccoy said. “You can see how the ripple effect continues after one little party.”

He said the age group 2029 had about 400 cases and it jumped up by 30 cases in the span of four days.

“I’m not trying to scare this age group, but it continues to outpace any other age group that we have,” Mccoy said.

Elsewhere

On Saturday, the Saratoga County Public Health Department and its team of contact tracers determined there was a low-risk exposure last week in Saratoga Springs at the Bourbon Room, 8 Caroline Street. An employee tested positive for COVID-19, and worked on Thursday, July 16, Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18 from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to a county advisory.

While the employee was wearing a mask at all times, anyone who visited the bar on those dates should self-monitor for symptoms and contact their health care provider to get a diagnostic test, the county suggests. Those who don’t have a health care provider can call 518-855-2276. Rensselaer County reported two new cases.

Statewide, there are a confirmed 750 additional cases of coronavirus, bringing New York’s total to 411,200 confirmed cases, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office on Saturday. There were 10 deaths. Hospitalizations dropped again, down to 646, the lowest since March 18, Cuomo said.