County leaders stress common goals.
Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady coordinate response to COVID surge
As the Capital Region witnesses recordbreaking numbers of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations this holiday season, three top county leaders — executives Dan Mccoy of Albany County and Steve Mclaughlin of Rensselaer County, and Schenectady County Manager Rory Fluman — expressed their commitment at a Saturday briefing to coordinate responses and strategies to combat the ongoing surge.
While no formal plan was outlined, and no clear answer given on how the counties stand with regards to microcluster designations, the county leaders, all wearing masks when walking into the briefing, gave reassurances that they’re prepared to assist one another in a winter that is bound to be, health experts say, dangerous.
“What happens here in Albany County happens in Schenectady, in Rensselaer, and throughout the whole Capital District,” Mccoy said.
The county leaders each said they’re waiting on guidance from the state to determine how yellow, orange or red microclus
ter zones will be assessed and designated.
“We’re hoping on getting that soon next week,” Mccoy said.
The Capital Region is one of the only metro areas in the state to not have any additional restrictions put on it due to rising case and death numbers in recent weeks. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a revised strategy that adds hospitalization and death rates, available hospital and intensive care unit beds, and available health care staff to the metrics the state uses to make zone designation decisions.
The gathering of the executives came at the conclusion of what has been a grim week for each county. Mccoy announced 177 new cases on Saturday and 89 people hospitalized, a slight decrease from Friday’s record-breaking 185 cases and 96 hospitalizations. Of those new cases, 141 didn’t have a clear source of infection. Mccoy also reported that the number of people in the intensive care unit decreased from Friday’s record-tying 16 to 14 on Saturday.
Rensselaer County set a record Saturday, announcing 77 new cases, its most since the start of the pandemic, as well as 16 hospitalizations and another death.
And in Schenectady County, 120 new cases were recorded on Friday.
“There’s a lot of back and forth across the river,” Mclaughlin said. “There’s a lot of interplay between these counties.”
The trio pleaded with residents to continue to adhere to social distancing and mask-wearing.
“It’s all about the spread,” Fluman said. “The numbers are rising, and
we’re seeing them starting to explode, frankly.”
Albany and Schenectady County’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate has topped 4 percent for five days, which would’ve put the counties on a trajectory toward an orange zone designation under the previous microcluster guidance from the state.
Schenectady County has topped 3 percent for three days, which would’ve meant a potential yellow zone designation.
Mccoy also discussed the bipartisan COVID-19 package that Congress appears to be debating, bringing the prospect of additional relief closer than it has been in at least six months.
“We need to get that package,” Mccoy said. “We need to take care of local governments.”
Across the state, there were 69 deaths from the virus on Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
“I understand New Yorkers may be feeling COVID fatigue, especially now that we have entered the holiday season and the first batch of vaccines is a couple weeks away, but if there was ever a time to double down and be vigilant, it’s now,” Cuomo said. “We continue to implement our data-driven winter plan and we are laser focused on making sure New York’s hospitals have enough capacity. What’s troubling is we are seeing a new trend where the majority of cases are traced to households and private gatherings.”