Officials: Marathon, not sprint, dealing with pandemic
By Michael Gwizdala
ALBANY, N.Y. » During their daily morning press conference, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen emphasized that this period of time is a marathon, not a sprint.
Whalen once again noted how the lack of COVID-19 testing has left them a bit in the dark regarding the evolving situation in Albany County.
“When we look downstate, we know that this is widespread through the community and they have been able in New York City given the fact that there is still testing for the community to look at what a timeline may look like,” Whalen explained.
“They’re talking about the apex, which is when we would get to the highest point of the curve, being in a couple of weeks. It is difficult for us to extrapolate from that where exactly we fall but I think it’s safe to say that we would be later than a couple of weeks. So we are in this for the long haul,” Whalen noted.
In crunching the number, McCoy stated the positive cases are up from 187 Sunday to 199 on Monday.
In addition, those under mandatory quarantine rose from 505 to 559. Conversely, people under precautionary quarantine descended from 233 to 223. There are currently 15 people in the hospital with seven adults in the ICU.
McCoy also thanked those health care heroes working around the clock during this pandemic.
“We’ve been seeing so much compassion and selflessness lately it makes me proud to be the county executive of this county. That people, not just businesses are stepping up and doing things differently, that the people of this community are pitching in and trying to help and trying to do great things,” he said.
“In essence, I can’t thank you enough for that. So it does take a village, takes a village to raise a community so thank you so much,” McCoy added of his gratitude for the community.
Also stepping up to the plate in the effort to feed those under quarantine Monday are the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the New York National Guard.
“Our Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, we had over 19,000 pounds of food shipped into the Times Union Center today for families who had been placed under mandatory and precautionary quarantine. This includes pasta, peanut butter, soup, canned vegetables, rice, pork, chicken, apples, eggs and more,” McCoy remarked.
“We have the New York National Guard and Air National Guard helping out with us and we can’t thank them enough,” McCoy added.
Whalen noted that the county is working tirelessly to identify and monitor cases by coordinating with other counties as well.
“At the health department, we continue to work around the clock to make sure that we are identifying cases. Getting cases from other counties that maybe have contact with Albany County residents and making sure that those individuals are placed on appropriate quarantine and followed along,” she said.
“We’re monitoring their symptoms, and we’re advising them if they’re not feeling well, what the best course of events and recommended behaviors from there should be,” Whalen added.
To that end, Whalen illustrated the point that included in those behaviors, people should keep following the public health guidelines that remain in place.
“We know that this is difficult for people but want to encourage people to still maintain social distance, keep kids at home and keep your families safe,” Whalen added.