Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today that as of this morning, there are now 962 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 917 people under mandatory quarantine and 23 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 2,156 individuals have completed quarantine, with 487 of them having tested positive and recovered. County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen joined him for the daily briefing.

With 43 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 4.46%, down from yesterday’s rate of 4.59%. Ten of those individuals are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU), an increase of four since yesterday. The number of COVID-19 deaths for the county remains at 36. There are now 42 residents in total at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center who have tested positive, along with 19 employees, including two staff members who have recovered and returned to work.

“As Governor Cuomo discusses a regional approach to reopening New York’s economy, I have made it clear that in order to do that, we will need to expand our testing capacity even further from where it is now for Albany County and the entire Capital District,” said County Executive McCoy. “We are doing just that through creative partnerships like the one we’re announcing today, and I look forward to working with the Governor on a smart strategy to get our people back to work. I’m proud that we could provide the personal protective equipment required so Priority 1 Urgent Care could make this new testing site in Guilderland a reality.”

Dr. Jonathan Halpert of Priority 1 Urgent Care joined the County Executive for today’s announcement to discuss the testing site at their facility located in Hamilton Square at 2080 Western Avenue in Guilderland. The location, at the corner of Routes 20 and 155, is convenient for both those relying on public transportation and those traveling in their own vehicles from the City of Albany, New Scotland, the Hilltowns and Schenectady. Testing will be reimbursed by an individual’s health insurance, and will be done by appointments only after being screened for expanded CDC symptoms. To schedule an appointment, you can call (518) 867-8040.

County Executive McCoy also encouraged small businesses and nonprofits in Albany County to quickly apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was recently reinfused with an additional $310 billion by the federal government and began accepting applications again yesterday morning. The program, administered by the US Small Business Administration, offers loans with 1% interest to companies with 500 employees or fewer. Loans become grants for those who keep their employees on the payrolls during the eight-week loan period. For more information, please use their link here.

This week’s schedule for walk-up community COVID-19 testing has been announced, a partnership between County Executive McCoy and the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center. Please note, that aside from the new times and locations for the rotating mobile sites, the times for daily testing at Whitney Young have also been updated. To date, 495 people have been tested, including 408 at the Albany sites and 87 at the Watervliet site. All testing is by appointment only, after being screened for symptoms over the phone. To be screened, please call (518) 465-4771. 

Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center - 920 Lark Drive, Albany

• Tuesday: 1:00 – 4:00pm 
• Wednesday: 8:30am –12 noon
• Thursday: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
• Friday: 8:30am –12 noon

Rotating Locations & Dates for the Week of April 27 through May 1
Each week the mobile sites will rotate morning & afternoon testing. The full updated schedules can be found at the here.

• Tuesday, April 28
  • 1:30 – 4:00pm: Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet
• Wednesday, April 29
  • 9:00 am – 12 noon: Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet
  • 1:30 – 4:00 pm: Equinox, 500 Central Ave, Albany
• Thursday, April 30
  • 9:00 am – 12 noon: Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, Albany
  • 1:30 – 4:00 pm: Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Avenue, Watervliet
• Friday, May 1
  • 9:00 am – 12 noon: Location & Time TBD
  • 1:30 – 4:00pm: 55 Mohawk Street, Cohoes

County Executive McCoy also highlighted the drive-thru community testing site at Rite Aid, 1863 Central Avenue in Colonie that started last week thanks to a partnership with Town Supervisor Paula Mahan, Rite Aid and the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Testing is free for those who are eligible based on CDC guidelines and are at least 18 years old. It’s available between 9am and 5pm, seven days a week by appointment only. Registration is now available at www.riteaid.com. Tests will be conducted from within an individual’s car with self-swab nasal tests and with the help of a pharmacist.

For those experiencing stress, anxiety or depression while confined to their homes for extended periods of time, the Albany County COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week from 8am to 8pm at (518) 269-6634. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500.

The County Executive continues to offer online videos on coping, crafts and reading, AAU karate, exercise, proper use of personal protective equipment and more.

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 hotline at 888-364-3065.