Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today that as of this morning, there are now 1,120 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County, an increase of nearly 100 cases since yesterday’s number 1,026. Additionally, there are now 907 people under mandatory quarantine and 22 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 2,286 individuals have completed quarantine, with 562 of them having tested positive and recovered. County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen joined him in making the announcement.

Overnight, there have been two more COVID-19 deaths – a man and a woman, both in their 80’s. The death toll for the county now stands at 41. With 34 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 3.03%, down from yesterday’s rate of 3.6%. Ten of those individuals are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU), an increase of two since yesterday.

There are currently 46 residents in total at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center who have tested positive for COVID-19, including two who have recovered. Additionally, 23 employees have tested positive, including four who have fully recovered and returned to work. Lillian M. Moy, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, joined the County Executive for the briefing to discuss her organizations efforts to provide legal advice to residents during the ongoing pandemic.

“It pains me to have to report two more deaths since just yesterday. We now have two more families who couldn’t be with their loved ones during their final moments, and two more funerals that will be limited to immediate families only,” said County Executive McCoy. 

“While we work to keep the public informed on the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the pandemic and the various executive orders and guidelines, we need partners like the Legal Aid Society to ensure people know their rights and know they are not alone. If you are facing eviction or an illegal lockout, if you are struggling with your unemployment claim, if you are applying for FMLA, I encourage you to reach out to the COVID-19 Legal Line.”

Residents who are having issues with housing, state and federal benefits – especially for those who are gig employees or self-employed, senior services, child care, handling a death in the family, estates, court proceedings and more, you can reach the Legal Aid COVID-19 Legal Line by calling 1-833-628-0087. The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York reported a drop for their intake calls, which may demonstrate that people do not realize their legal services continue despite the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The County Executive also announced that the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail was featured on the cover of the Rail-Trails of New Jersey & New York, “The Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Guidebook.” He had announced yesterday that new features had been added, including more bike racks and repair stations equipped with hand sanitizer dispensers. County Executive McCoy continues to encourage people to maintain six feet of social distance and to wear a mask when that isn’t possible while utilizing the County Rail Trail. 

The County Executive also highlighted the latest testing site in Albany County at Priority 1 Urgent Care, located in Hamilton Square at 2080 Western Avenue in Guilderland. The partnership was made possible by Albany County supplying the facility with critical personal protective equipment for the staff and supplemental test kits. 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 patients come in to be screened for expanded CDC symptoms. To schedule an appointment, you can call (518) 867-8040.

This week’s schedule for walk-up community COVID-19 testing is below, 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, 645 people have been tested, including 514 at the Albany sites and 131 at the Watervliet site. Of the 452 test results that have come in, 46 were positive. 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

• Thursday: 1:00 – 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 here.

• Thursday, April 30
  • 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 – 4:00 pm: 55 Mohawk Street, Cohoes

County Executive McCoy also encouraged those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to access the drive-thru community testing site at Rite Aid, 1863 Central Avenue in Colonie that was launched in 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 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.