County Executive Dan McCoy said today there are 475 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. There are now 638 people under mandatory quarantine and 74 people under precautionary quarantine.
With 38 people now hospitalized, McCoy said the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 8%. Sixteen of those individuals are in intensive care. Of the 475 positive cases of COVID-19, 216 people have recovered from the disease. "Since yesterday, we had two more now, county residents that have passed away, both in their 70s, one female, one male and that brings our total up to 14."
McCoy noted that for the second time since it opened about a week ago, the community coronavirus testing facility at the University at Albany was closed Monday due to high winds, and appointments would need to be rescheduled.
County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen says don't let the numbers lull you into a sense of false security. "The vast majority of the population in Albany County is still not immune to COVID-19 and is therefore still susceptible to COVID-19. So while we have these numbers that do demonstrate people that have recovered, and people that have gone through quarantine, we still don't have assurances that it is safe for us to resume any kind of life as we as we knew it before this began."
McCoy, after reporting he saw people gathered in groups over the weekend, continuedurging residents practice social distancing to prevent the virus’ spread.
Dr. Whalen says while the prospects for taking New York off "pause" are promising, people should still be careful because COVID-19 affects different indivuals differently. "As we know, the vast majority of people who get coronavirus are along the line of 80% have either a very mild illness or something resembling the seasonal flu, which is not a mild illness. But it is something that most people recover from. And the other 20% get a more severe illness. The problem that we have and the bad news is that we really don't know who that 20% will be. We know some people with pre existing conditions and some people do their age have underlying risk factors that may make them predisposed to a bad case of COVID-19. This does not mean if you have pre existing risk factors or if you are over the age of 60 or even 70 that you cannot recover because we have seen elderly people recover."
Whalen added that anti-body testing is in development stages and we need to rely on scientific guidance as to what the best methods of tetsting are. She is waiting for the State Health Department to issue guidance, and says it is something she will pay close attention to in the coming weeks and months.
County Department for Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Moira Manning says services are available to keep kids safe and in nurturing environments during a time of social distancing and self-quarantines.
"During this pandemic we have seen through the Department for Children, Youth and Families, a decrease in the number of child abuse reports from the state central registry. This is very concerning because child abuse does not stop because of COVID-19. The problem really being is that the mandated reporters are not available to see these students, your teachers, your doctors, and daycare providers are not seeing these children. So what we want to do is ask you as community members, as neighbors as family members, to take action and protect these children."
Manning says if you see any kind of possible abuse call the county at (518) 447-7324 or the NYS Child Abuse Hotline at 800-342-3720.
