McCoy to youths: Take pandemic seriously
ALBANY, N.Y. » Albany County finds itself in good shape relative to the COVID-19 pandemic as the Capital Region readies to enter Phase 4 on July 1.
On Tuesday, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen provided a break down of what the latest case numbers signify.
While the overall numbers have settled down, McCoy expressed his concern with the younger population getting careless and feeling a sense of invincibility.
“The age group 20-29, we’re at 336 cases and 314 [cases for the] 50- 59 [age group] which is the closest,” McCoy remarked. “One of the things I kept talking about this number was because these are the kids that have no sign or symptoms that go out into the community, they feel that they’re like superman or superwoman and they don’t wear a mask and they continue to go around people and then they go around people with underlying health issues or they go around seniors and they infect and they spread it.”
“I think the Governor [Andrew Cuomo] pointed it out too, what’s interesting about this number and [Dr. Whalen] and I both identified this early on is we were watching it and now the state is looking at this, in Florida it’s 18-29 that has been get
ting the most infected and actually they’re the ones being hospitalized,” McCoy added regarding that age group leading to spikes in hot spots throughout the country.
Whalen detailed the numbers from the state tracker as well.
“Our numbers do continue to be low, which is reassuring. What’s reassuring the number of people positive tested continues to go low,” Whalen said.
Whalen attributed that decrease in behaviors exhibited by New Yorkers.
“I really think that there’s a very important reason why our numbers are low and that is the compliance with behavior. We’re seeing concerning spikes across the country in states that have already opened that are now starting to have to close down again. What’s the difference in our behavior in New York? I really think that when you look at it the difference comes down to wearing masks,” Whalen noted.
“Wearing masks is not controversial from a scientific point of view. From a scientific point of view this is the best way you can protect yourself in addition to frequent hand washing and social distancing from getting COVID. No matter what age your are it is essential to practice these measures because we have a vulnerable population that needs protection against COVID-19,” Whalen added on the importance of wearing masks.
As of Tuesday morning there have been 1,895 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County, an increase of two since Monday. Additionally, there are 185 people under mandatory quarantine. Presently there are 26 active cases of COVID-19. Thus far, 5,732 people have completed quarantine, with 1,869 of them having tested positive and recovered.
Currently, four people are hospitalized with one person in ICU. The county hospitalization rate is also unchanged at 0.21%.
McCoy was also joined by Discover Albany Film Commissioner Deb Goedeke to discuss how the Capital Region entering Phase 4 ahead of New York City will provide a boost for TV and movie production and the local economy.
“TV and movie production reopening comes in Phase 4. We’ve already had two location scouts here in Albany last week about a possible Netflix movie and HBO has been calling as well. Considering pre-production of the Punisher brought in roughly half a million dollars last summer alone, this would be a huge win for our local economy,” McCoy noted.
Given how both the Times Union Center and the Albany Capital Center have been deemed New York State, film and TV companies are able to access the State Film Tax Credits when they film in the City of Albany using these facilities.
Discover Albany and Film Albany is working with Empire State Development to ensure the proper guidelines are in place to safely host film and production crews as part of Phase 4. It’s estimated that a TV series generates about $125,000 each day of production, and a feature film generates $250,000 per day, supporting local hotels, restaurants, truck rentals and other local businesses.