Region hits troubling milestone
Health officials report highest daily new-case total, urge people to follow rules
“Unless people are very vigilant with what they do, we are going to see these numbers go up. And what happens when those numbers start to go up? Our hospitals start to fill up and we start to hit surge capacity.”
Elizabeth Whalen, Albany County health
commissioner
Capital Region health officials are pleading with the public to remain vigilant about basic health precautions as the region’s COVID -19 numbers hit a record high this week.
The region experienced its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases on Monday, with eight local counties reporting 182 new confirmed infections. That beat the region’s previous record of 147 new cases recorded May 1 — when the region was still in the heat of its first wave, a Times Union analysis of
county-provided data show.
The five-day rolling average of new daily infections — a metric that takes anomalies and sporadic jumps into account — also peaked on Monday at 122, busting the region’s previous record of 117 set May 2.
“Our numbers are going in the wrong direction and I’m very concerned,” Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said Tuesday after the county had confirmed over 400 new cases in the past eight days — or onetenth of its cumulative total to date.
Unlike the region’s first wave of cases, this second wave comes when widescale shutdowns are no longer in effect. Some schools and workplaces have chosen to conduct business remotely, however, in an effort to curb spread. The University at Albany moved entirely to remote classes for the remainder of the semester Tuesday, and a positive case among Schenectady County’s public health staff prompted a similar pivot of at least 20 staff members to remote work.
“Now we have kids back in school,” Whalen said. “We have people back in their places of work. So what am I concerned about? This number’s gonna go up unless people change their behavior. Unless people are very vigilant with what they do, we are going to see these numbers go up. And what happens when those numbers start to go up? Our hospitals start to fill up and we start to hit surge capacity.”
Hospitalizations due to the virus are rising but are still well below the region’s spring peak of 205, which was somewhat inflated by patients who had been transferred in from overwhelmed New York City hospitals.
As of Monday, hospitals in the eight-county area were reporting 119 COVID -19 patients, up three from the day before and up 90 from a month ago. Albany Medical Center this week said it will be restricting visitation with some compassionate exceptions starting Wednesday — a move that other local hospitals have begun to take as well.
Part of the reason for the surge is that people have become lax about basic safety precautions, Whalen and other county officials said Tuesday. In addition to cases arising from school and workplaces, local counties are tracing infections back to Halloween parties, family and friend gatherings, and travel to hotspots within and outside of the state. In many cases, masks and social distancing were not maintained, they said.
Unfortunately, this recent surge comes at a precarious time. College students are about to return home for winter break. Thanksgiving and other holidays that typically prompt large family gatherings are fast approaching. And flu season, which gets under way in October and peaks around February, is expected to worsen.
“This is not where we want to be,” Whalen said. “This is where we hoped we wouldn’t get (to) and we’re there and it could get worse. And if behaviors don’t change, it will get worse.”
People should adhere to the basic precautions that have been outlined since the beginning, she said. Those include: Wear a mask while out in public, maintain six feet of distance from those outside of your immediate household, avoid large gatherings and parties, and wash your hands frequently.
Additionally, she and County Executive Dan Mccoy said they are seeing some “disturbing ” signs of noncompliance with quarantine and contact tracing efforts. Of 68 new cases confirmed in the county overnight, for example, contact tracers were unable to ascertain a clear source of infection for 29. Mccoy suggested that many of those undetermined cases were undetermined because people were not being forthright.
“Out of the 29, there’s people who are just not telling us,” he said. “Again, you’re not protecting somebody. We’re not going to lock them up. But if you want us to stop this spread and you don’t want to shut businesses down again and you want to get back to somewhat of a new norm of the world we’re in, we need your help.”
Whalen also suggested that parents are not seeking out tests for children who are ordered to stay home from school due to coronavirus symptoms. Without a test to confirm a diagnosis, health officials are unable to quarantine other individuals who may have been exposed to the child, she said.
“You must test and you must share contact information,” she said. “This is the only way that we can stop the spread of COVID. This is what we have been saying from day one, and I think people aren’t taking this seriously — and this is why our numbers continue to rise. And I’m very concerned what the next couple of weeks will bring.”
Mccoy said the county hadn’t expected to see cases at the levels currently being seen until January or February. “I don’t know how better we can put it,” he said. “We need your help. We need to be in this together and that’s how we’ll get through it.”