COVID cases increase sharply
Whalen: Number of patients ‘unfortunately not a surprise’
ALBANY, N.Y. » Coronavirus cases continue to rise dramatically in Albany County. On Friday, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced today that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County has now climbed to 5,498 to date, an increase of 140 new positive cases since yesterday.
“Today’s daily total of positive cases is the second-highest on record since the outbreak began, just short of the record 147 on November 14. This number is likely to rise in the coming weeks because of Thanksgiving gatherings and head of the holidays next month. A surge in infections will likely lead to a surge in hospitalizations and sadly more deaths,” McCoy said.
“In order to better deal with this situation, I’m proud to add the Times Union Center as another testing site through our partnership with
Whitney Young. The county facility is an ideal location that allows for social distancing without having to deal with the cold weather, especially for those without cars,” he added.
Officials note that our overall case count will fluctuate as the CommCare records for college students are transferred to the county in which they are isolating for their daily monitoring and then transferred back to Albany County for the final case count.
Additionally, the number of people under mandatory quarantine dropped to 2,480 from 2,714. The fiveday average for new daily positives increased to 99.2 from 90.6. There are now 964 active cases in the county, up from 949 yesterday.
So far, 22,264 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 4,534 of them had tested positive and recovered.
Among the new positive cases, 19 had close contact with positive cases, 116 did not have a clear source of infection at this time and five are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings – though not from Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
Therewere four new hospitalizations to report overnight, while the number of county residents currently hospitalized from the virus increased from 41 to 43. There are still 10 patients in the ICU ( Intensive Care Unit), and the hospitalization rate is now 0.78%. There were no new COVID-related deaths to report since yesterday, and Albany County’s death toll remains at151 since the outbreak began.
“The number today of 140 cases i not a surprise,” Albany County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said. “I think in the coming days and weeks, we can anticipate that our numbers will be even higher.”
“I implore people to continue to practice the important public health strategies going forward,” Whalen added.
On Black Friday – and ahead of Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday – McCoy continues to encourage residents to stay safe while shopping local, and consider patronizing businesses on their online platforms or using curbside pickup. Downtown Albany Business Improvement District has a list online of ways to shop without going into the physical locations. The Lark Street Business Improvement District is also hosting its Lark Street Holiday Market on Saturday.