Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today with County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen that as of this morning, there are now 515 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 663 people under mandatory quarantine and 71 people under precautionary quarantine. Sadly, there were four more deaths in the county since yesterday’s briefing – two men in their 60’s, a woman in her 70’s and another woman in her 80’s. All of the deceased had underlying health complications. The death toll due to the Novel Coronavirus for the county now stands at twenty.

With 29 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at just over 5.6%, which was at 7% yesterday. Twelve of those individuals are now in Intensive Care Units (ICU), a decrease of one since yesterday. Dr. Micheline Ford and President & CEO of Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center David Shippee joined the County Executive to discuss health disparities among minority communities, the disproportional impact of COVID-19 on those communities, and additional COVID-19 testing at four new sites in downtown Albany and Watervliet. 

“I have made my Equity Agenda a top priority of my administration, and one thing we are seeing throughout the state and across the nation is health disparities in underserved communities and inequity of health outcomes. Equitable health outcomes must also apply to testing for the coronavirus, and these new mobile testing sites will ensure those who do not have access to reliable transportation are able to get tested and protect themselves and their loved ones,” said County Executive McCoy. 

“I want to thank Dr. Ford for offering her unique insights on the need for those members of the African American and minority communities who are disproportionately affected by conditions like heart disease and asthma to seek medical care. And of course, thank you to Whitney Young for being such an incredible partner to make this new testing a reality. This is a critical step towards a better understanding of just how far this virus has spread throughout the Capital Region and ultimately stopping it in its tracks,” he continued.

Testing for COVID-19 will begin tomorrow at 12:00pm and go until 4:00pm at the first new mobile site at the Capital South Campus at 20 Warren Street in Albany. On Friday, there will be testing at the Whitney Young, Jr. Health Center, 920 Lark Drive, Albany from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Also on Friday, there will be testing at the Bleecker Terrace Apartments on North Manning Boulevard from 9:00am to 12:00pm. Additional testing on Friday will be held at the Watervliet Health Center at 1804 Second Ave. in Watervliet from 1:30pm to 4pm. All testing is done by appointment only and after being screened for symptoms over the phone by calling the Whitney Young, Jr. Health Center at (518) 465-4771.  

The Whitney Young site is open weekdays from 9:00am to 4:00pm, and the 3 other sites are rotational with a morning location and then an afternoon location.  Schedule for location and times will be posted on our website. 

“We are pleased to partner with the Albany County Executive’s Office and Department of Health to bring COVID-19 testing to the community”, said David Shippee. “This opportunity allows us to reach the most vulnerable residents in our community, many who lack transportation and experience barriers to care every day, let alone during an unprecedented global health pandemic.”

During the press conference, County Executive McCoy also highlighted a food drive being hosted by Voorheesville Community Cares at the First United Methodist Church of Voorheesville at 68 Maple Avenue in the upper parking lot and the Voorheesville Public Library at 51 School Road on Thursday at 9am – 11am. It will benefit the Voorheesville New Scotland Food Pantry at St. Matthews Church, the Berne Food Pantry at the Lutheran Church and the Westerlo Food Pantry at the Reformed Church. You can donate nonperishable items like soup, pasta, tuna, granola bars, mac & cheese, and personal care items including soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, baby wipes and toothpaste. 

For those who are experiencing stress, anxiety or even depression during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week from 8am to 8pm at (518) 269-6634. The County Executive is also offering videos on coping, crafts and reading, AAU karate, exercise and more. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500.

Daily briefings are recorded and may be seen with slides on AlbanyCounty.com, the County’s Facebook page, public access channels—Open Stage Media in Schenectady and Channel Albany in the city of Albany and on Capitol OTB—Channel 1250 Spectrum and Channel 467 on Fios.

For all COVID-19 questions and concerns, including issues with price gouging and fraudulent products, residents are encouraged to use United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline as well as the State Department of Health’s hot line at 888-364-3065.