Capital Region set to enter Phase 1
ALBANY, N.Y. » The Capital Region is set to enter Phase 1 of New York state’s regional reopening plan, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed the region has satisfied the amount of contact tracers at his daily press conference in Long Island.
“As more regions and businesses across the state become eligible to begin reopening, New Yorkers are getting excited, but we must not forget the hard work we’ve done and the pain we’ve experienced for the last two months,” Cuomo said.
“Everything that we did — the closings, social distancing and other measures — were tough but necessary, and because of it we saved lives and we flattened the curve,” Cuomo added. “If you look at the curve in New York compared to the rest of the nation, we’re going down while the curve is still going up in many other regions.
“We must continue to do everything we’ve been doing even as we begin to reopen and remember the lessons we’ve learned through all of this.”
Following the announcement, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy added his thoughts on the regional reopen.
“It has been a long and difficult 68 days since the first two cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Albany County, and untold pain and suffering has been felt by our families who have lost loved ones, and even more who have lost their jobs, their savings, and senses of purpose,” McCoy said. “The Capital Region economy reopening tomorrow is an exciting turning point in this fight against the pandemic without a doubt.
“I want to thank everyone who have sacrificed so much to get us here, including the 430 contact tracers who have joined our efforts.”
Yet, McCoy cautioned that this initial phase of the reopening doesn’t mean an immediate return to the pre-COVID-19 sense of normalcy.
“However, we are not out of the woods yet, and I ask each of our residents from our eight partner counties to be vigilant and cautious as we enter Phase 1 to prevent another surge of infections,” McCoy said. “The Reopening Action Plan that we developed, if followed by businesses and the public, will allow us to safely transition into Phase 2 and so on and continue to get even more of our hardworking families back to work without risking the lives of our most vulnerable.”
Coinciding with the reopening, Cuomo announced a collaboration with the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State to implement a two-week hospital visitation pilot program in 16 hospitals across the state to allow increased visitations for family members and loved ones.
As part of the pilot program, visits will be timelimited and visitors will be provided with and must wear PPE and are subject to symptoms and temperature checks.
Cuomo also announced the state will allow Memorial Day ceremonies of 10 people or less statewide, with final decisions about ceremonies being left to local governments. Cuomo also encouraged vehicle parades in honor of veterans for Memorial Day.
At his Thursday morning brief, McCoy confirmed a woman in her 70s has died from COVID-19. The woman was a resident at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. That brought the death toll of the facility to 14 and the overall county count to 70.
In terms of cases, McCoy noted Albany County is up to 1,481 positive cases, 764 people in mandatory quarantine, and five under precautionary quarantine. At Shaker Place, 32 residents have recovered, all 190 staff were tested a couple of days ago, according to McCoy.
Additionally, 3,906 people have completed quarantine, 1,013 tested positive and recovered.
McCoy added that 30 people are hospitalized with three in ICU, bringing the hospitalization rate to 2.02%
During the press conference, McCoy unveiled an initiative aimed at keeping teens active and safe at the same time.
“It’s tough on everyone, including teens, teenagers who want to be with their friends playing sports just hanging out,” McCoy said of teens looking for ways to keep active.
“I’m very excited to announce our partnership with AT&T, Albany PAL, and Albany native, NFL running back from the New York Giants Dion Lewis. Dion’s been a fabric of our community and has done not just well for himself, but he continues to a partner in the community coming back every time we call on him,” McCoy remarked on the partnership.
“We’re challenging kids and we’re going to launch a challenge that’s going to make teens from the age of 13 to 18 every week to post a video on Instagram. Our hashtag’s going to be #AlbanyCountyStaySafe,” McCoy continued.
“We’re going to ask kids to put a video together and this week it’s going to be “moving,” how you can exercise safely, and how you can continue to do stuff safely, how you’re dealing with being at home,” McCoy added on the challenge theme for this week.
Each week, starting Monday and running through July 11, a new challenge will be posted to the County Executive’s Instagram account. The first deadline will be May 23 at 11:59 p.m. and at that time every following Saturday. Only one entry per person per week may be submitted and while this will be promoted on all social media, entries with hashtags are submitted on Instagram only.
There will be 20 randomly selected winners each week who will receive $25 gift cards to local businesses from around the county.
“Our new normal is a challenge to all of us. I grew up in Albany and was always active in team sports from Albany Pop Warner to playing football in high school, college, and now the NFL,” Lewis said.
“I was a PAL kid, always involved in community activities as a young teenager,” Lewis added. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for all of the young adults out there to be at home, not play sports, not socialize in person with all of their friends.
“As an athlete, I find it hard not to be able to go to a gym or facility and work out. I have come up with creative ways to achieve my workout at home. I know the kids out there in the Capital District can share some of their creative ways to keep moving, keep healthy, and remain positive and safe. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with as they submit their entries.”
“AT&T is proud to collaborate with Albany County, the Albany Police Athletic League, and Dion to offer the #AlbanyCountyStaySafe program and its critical public safety messages to help keep the community safe as the warmer weather approaches and the county nears opening,” Kristin Duffy, Director of External Affairs, AT&T commented.
“I commend County Executive McCoy for his leadership throughout this crisis, and his ongoing work to promote the best practices necessary to halt the spread of COVID-19. AT&T has been connecting people for more than 100 years, which is why we are excited to be a part of this innovative effort to keep thousands of County youth engaged, educated, safe and, most of all, digitally connected in fun and enjoyable ways while maintaining social distancing and staying home,” Duffy noted.
“Albany PAL is proud to partner with AT&T and Albany County on this innovative initiative to reach our youth,” PAL Executive Director Lenny Ricchiuti said. “One of the most important things area teens can do is to stay home. #AlbanyCountyStaySafe will be a great way to engage our teens with challenges while helping us to spread the word to Stay Safe.
“By practicing social distancing, wearing their masks, washing their hands and encouraging their peers to do the same, teens will have the opportunity to win gift cards that support local businesses.”