Virus claims five more lives

In December alone, COVID-19 has killed 33 residents in region

Five more Capital Region residents have died due to complications from COVID -19, officials announced Friday.

Three of the victims were residents of Albany County and were in their 90s, County Executive Dan Mccoy said. Two were men and one was a woman, he said.

“Any day we have to announce new deaths caused by the virus is a difficult one, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families,” he said.

The county has lost at least 175 residents to coronavirus since the pandemic arrived in New York — by far the most of any Capital Region county.

Saratoga County also lost two more residents to the virus, according to data published Friday. Officials did not release any information about the victims. Saratoga County has lost at least 27 residents to the virus since March.

Officials in the eight-county Capital Region have confirmed nearly 450 COVID -19 deaths to date. So far this month, 33 Capital Region residents have died after contracting the virus.

Rensselaer County set another new record with 89 new CO

VID -19 cases. There were no new deaths to report and hospitalizations numbered 19. Twelve of the new cases are at Eddy Heritage House in Troy.

Dispatchers sickened

Two members of the Albany Police Communications Division have tested positive for the virus and 10 others are experiencing symptoms, the department said late Thursday.

Police said all emergency 911 calls continue to be answered swiftly, and there have been no interruptions in dispatching services.

As a precaution, police activated a contingency plan to ensure continued dispatching in coordination with the Colonie Police Department and Albany County Sheriff ’s Department.

The division continues to use guidelines to help minimize the virus risks, including that all employees must wear a mask, police said. “However, similar to many other emergency first responder agencies across the nation, their important work unfortunately puts them at heightened risk of being exposed to COVID -19,” the statement said.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan signed an executive order temporarily suspending civil service rules to expedite the hiring of experienced emergency dispatchers to fill vacancies to continue the service.

Schools go remote

The Hoosick Falls school district will switch all students to complete virtual learning on Monday for an indefinite period of time as a result of the increasing occurrence of positive COVID -19 cases in the area, the district stated Friday.

“Until the number of positive cases significantly declines in the Hoosick Falls community, the school will continue remote learning. We cannot continue to expose children and staff members to the virus with new cases appearing daily in the community,” the district said.

The pool of substitute teachers has shrunk due to positive tests and quarantining that the district can’t replace stricken teachers. The district said it can’t combine classes or share space as had been done previously.

Bethlehem school officials said due to the number of cases, they decided to have students at the middle school and high school transition to all-remote learning beginning Monday. In-person instruction for grades 6-12 will be suspended through the end of the holiday break. All elementary schools in the district will continue in-person instruction, the school said.