Albany County reports six new deaths
» Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced an “alarming” six new deaths related to coronavirus.
There were six more COVID-related deaths to report overnight, and all but one were not residents of congregate settings. They include a woman in her 50s, a woman in her 60s, a man and woman in their 70s, and a man and a woman in their 80s.
Also on Saturday, McCoy announced the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County has now climbed to 5,558 to date, an increase of 67 new positive cases since yesterday. Additionally, the number of people under mandatory quarantine dropped to 2,311 from 2,480. The fiveday average for new daily positives increased to 103.4 from 99.2.
“I hope people are waking up and realizing that COVID-19 is here,” McCoy said. “We have to be more vigilant than we’ve ever been before.”
There are now 915 active cases in the county, down from 964 yesterday. So far, 22,740 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 4,643 of them had tested positive and recovered.
Among the new positive cases, 15 had close contact with positive cases, 51 did not have a clear source of infection at this time and one is a healthcare worker or resident of a congregate setting – though not from Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
A new system put into place by Albany Medical Center and St. Peter’s Hospital has improved the way Albany County receives data timely and accurately. A reconciliation of the data found a net of 18 new county residents currently hospitalized, increasing from 43 on Friday to 61 on Saturday.
Twelve of those were newly admitted on Nov. 25 or later. The reconciliation also found an increase of 45 total hospitalizations ever since the outbreak began, rising from 474 to 519.
There are now six patients currently in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), down from 10 yesterday, and the hospitalization rate is now 1.09%.
“The last time I had to report six new deaths was back on May 4, after we had seen an alarming surge of infections throughout the spring. Since yesterday it was also discovered that the number of county residents hospitalized fromthe virus has gone up to 61, shattering our previous record of 45 set just a week ago,” McCoy said. “The threat right now is very real. We need to get the spread of the virus under control before our hospital system is overwhelmed and we lose evenmore county residents.”
“I think when we look back on November and the numbers that we’ve seen, we are recognizing that November was a dark month and it has positioned us, unfortunately, very poorly for the upcoming holiday season,” Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen added. “People need to know that this could get a lot worse before it gets better.”
Below is next week’s schedule for Albany County’s COVID-19 mobile testing sites, a collaboration with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center. Testing is for those experiencing symptoms, essential workers and those returning to work by appointment only, after being screened over the phone. To be screened, please call (518) 465- 4771.
Locations & dates for the week of Nov. 30 (Please note newlocation starting Friday, Dec. 4. Drive-thru is encouraged at the Whitney Young and Watervliet locations, but walk-ups are still welcome)
The full updated schedule, along with other testing site options, can be found at the Albany County website here.
Whitney Young Health Dental Building (rear of building) – 900 Lark Drive, Albany (nowhas drive-thru-option)
• Monday, Nov. 30: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Watervliet Administrative Building, 1804 Second Ave., Watervliet (Mobile Site now has drive-thru option)
• Wednesday, Dec. 2: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Times Union Center, (new location) 51 South Pearl St., Albany, NY 12207 (no drivethru option available)
• Friday, Dec. 4: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.