Positive cases in Albany County spikes to 115
ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. » As expected, the number of positive coronavirus cases jumped to over 100 cases within the county.
On Sunday morning, Albany County Executive DanMcCoy said the county was now at 115 cases.
However, he did note that the number of individuals under mandatory quarantine is down from Saturday with that number at 318 people.
With the number of people in mandatory quarantine down from Saturday, the number of people in precautionary quarantine is up from Saturday to 318. McCoy said six people from the county are currently hospitalized.
“This constantly changes,” McCoy said.
McCoy mentioned how people may be starting to see the National Guard across the state and what that means for the community.
“You’re going to see a different norm out there,” McCoy said.
“You’re starting to see the National Guard mobilize around the state of New York, you’re going to see them around the community. They’re there to help set up field hospitals and get food out.”
Once again, McCoy urged the federal government to make more testing kits available.
“We’re calling for more testing kits, we have a shortage,” McCoy said.
“I’m begging the federal government to please step up and get these tests out, get them to New
York,” McCoy added.
The county executive praised M.N. Bird Company in Watervliet for starting to makemasks for Albany Medical Center and St. Peter’s
Hospital.
“This is what’s great about Albany County,” McCoy said.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple also touched on how personal protective equipment is also scarce for first responders.
“We’re continuing to aggressively hunt down masks and other PPE for our law enforcement, EMS, corrections, and even our dispatchers and our firefighters,” Apple noted.
Apple went on to discuss how crime has been down recently within the county, however, he said domestic incidents have seen a spike recently.
“Our call volume for law enforcement is a bit low, we did have a minor spike in domestic incidents, which is probably going to continue to call when everybody is confined to their house and everybody is getting a little antsy,” Apple said. EMS calls are on a rise,” he said.
The sheriff said he has noticed that gun sales in the county are skyrocketing.
“I’m a SecondAmendment person; I believe in the right to bear arms, but I just want everybody to do that safely, cautiously, and responsibly,” Apple said.
McCoy noted how he could see this “newnormal” be this way until June or July and also urged young people to take the pandemic seriously.
“This is a marathon; it’s not a sprint,” he said. “What you can do as residents is stay home… That’s really the only thing that’s going to make a difference.”
“Stop thinking that just because you’re young that you’re not going to get this,” McCoy added.