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 1,151 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 1,004 people under mandatory quarantine and 14 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 2,348 individuals have completed quarantine, with 578 of them having tested positive and recovered. 

Overnight, there have tragically been three more COVID-19 deaths – a woman in her 80’s and two men in their 70’s. The death toll for the county now stands at 44. With 33 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 2.86%, down from yesterday’s rate of 3.03%. Eight of those individuals are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU), a decrease 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, 25 employees have tested positive, including seven who have fully recovered and returned to work. One of the above stated deaths from overnight was a Shaker Place resident. United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined them for the briefing via Zoom to discuss the federal COVID-19 relief packages.

“As we continue to aggressively test at Shaker Place and across the county and fight the spread of COVID-19, counties need the support of our partners in Washington. Albany County alone is facing a $30 million budget hole due to lost sales tax revenue, with counties across the state outside of New York City losing up to $2 billion. So it cannot be overstated how desperately we need direct federal aid to localities, including for those with fewer than 500,000 people,” said County Executive McCoy. 

“I’m proud to have a champion like Senator Gillibrand in Congress who is fighting for us in the next stimulus package, along with important issues like health and economic equity, universal sick days and national paid leave, all of which could have helped prevent some of the damage caused by this virus,” he continued.

Senator Gillibrand discussed her work to bring critical funding to stem the spread of the COVID-19 and support those who have been affected, including $25 million for testing, $75 million for hospitals, and modifying the Paycheck Protection Program. She also discussed some of her priorities for the next federal relief package, including universal sick days and national paid leave. Senator Gillibrand also looks to create a “Health Force,” described as “an AmeriCorps for healthcare.” One million workers would be trained over the next two months to carry out additional testing, contact tracing and administering a potential vaccine. Other priorities include direct funding for cities and states, hunger relief, along with voting by mail, curbside voting and early voting to ensure Americans can exercise their right to vote without fear of spreading the coronavirus. 

County Executive McCoy also announced the launch of new virtual visits for residents at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. This will ensure they can stay connected with their families and loved ones through video calls while visitation is on hold to protect the most vulnerable populations during the pandemic.

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.

The remainder of 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. Next week’s schedule for the testing sites will be posted to the Albany County website soon To date, 719 people have been tested, including 556 at the Albany sites and 161 at the Watervliet site. Of the 506 test results that have come in, 75 were positive. All testing is by appointment only, after being screened for symptoms over the phone. To be screened, please call (518) 465-4771.

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.

• Friday, May 1, 1:30 – 4:00pm
  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 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.