MORE CASES EXPECTED
A new testing site opens today at Ualbany
ALBANY, N.Y. » As a new testing site at UAlbany is set to open Monday, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy said he expects to see coronavirus cases increase to 900 or more within the next few weeks.
The new mobile drive-thru testing facility is located at the Colonial Quad parking lot of the UAlbany main campus, 1400 Washington Ave.
The site will be open starting Monday, April 6 at 10 a.m., and hours going forward will be every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be nowalk-ins allowed andall patients must be in a vehicle with an appointment madeaheadof time by calling 888-3643065. Those whohave the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 will be prioritized.
McCoy announced on Sunday there are now 288 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the county.
Additionally, there are now384people under mandatory quarantine and 72 people under precautionary quarantine.
Since Saturday, there have been two additional deaths due to COVID-19 – a maninhis 70s and a woman in her 60s, both with underlying health issues.
The death toll for the county now stands at eight.
“My heart goes out to the two new families that had loved ones pass away [Saturday night],” McCoy said on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, this is going to be the new norm for a while... [But] we will get through this together,” he added.
With 38 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for the county stands at just over 13%. Thirteen of those individuals are now in Intensive Care Units (ICU).
Director of the Albany County Crime Victim & Sexual Violence Center Karen Ziegler joined McCoy to discuss the CVSVC’s efforts to ensure that anyone dealing with abuse at home has resources needed to protect them.
“While our 24-hour Sexual Assault Hotline is anything but new, we are now dealing with a very new reality in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak,” McCoy said. “As we see the number of positive cases and the number of heartbreaking deaths in the county, we are likely to see stress and tensions on the rise within homes.
“We’ve heard reports on increasing numbers of domestic abuse across the state. No one who is self-isolating or practicing social distancing, whether you are a woman or man, an adult or child, should feel trapped or forced [to] stay quiet about abuse.”
The Sexual Assault Hotline is available at (518) 447-7716 at all hours of the day. The County CrimeVictim & Sexual Violence Center continues to offer services and ac
Center continues to offer services and accept new clients during the pandemic, including advocacy for crime victims, referrals to other agencies, confidential therapy, educational programs and more. You can schedule a telecounseling session at (518) 447-7100.
“Socia l di s t ancing can create its own problems,” Ziegler said. “When there is violence in the home, when there is abuse in the home, isolation is a problem. It’s a problem for our children; it’s a problem for our men, for our women, and for
our elders.”
“When stress increases, we find that violence can increase,” Ziegler added. “We are very concerned.”
A video on domestic violence support, along with more information on county services, is available at the Albany County website at the below link:
https://www. albanycounty. com/ departments/ health/covid-19-resources-videos
For those experiencing stress, anxiety or even depression during the ongoing COVID- 19 crisis, the Albany County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (518) 269- 6634. County Executive McCoy is also offering videos
on coping, AAU martial arts, exercise and more on the Albany County official website at the below link. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549– 6500.