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 1,252 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 1,093 people under mandatory quarantine and 8 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 2,862 individuals have completed quarantine, with 664 of them having tested positive and recovered. Unfortunately, there were two more deaths in the county – two women, one in her 70’s and one in her 80’s, both with underlying health issues. One was a resident at Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The death toll for the county now stands at 53.

With 32 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 2.55%, down from 2.66% yesterday. The number of those individuals who are in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is now at 8, unchanged since yesterday’s briefing. There are now 48 residents in total at Shaker Place who have tested positive for COVID-19, including two who have recovered. Additionally, 15 employees who have tested positive remain out of work, while nine others who had tested positive have fully recovered and returned to work.

On National Nurses Day and the start of National Nurses Week, Kathleen Dethomasis, the County Department of Health Director of Nursing, joined the County Executive for the briefing to discuss the important role nursing staffs play at the Department of Health, local hospitals and across Albany County, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Nurses represent the very best of us, working prolonged, exhausting shifts and putting their own health in jeopardy in order to heal and protect our most vulnerable populations. While nurses deserve to be celebrated every day for their contributions to society, now more than ever they are the ones that are preventing tragedies and they are the ones that will help us return to any sense of normalcy,” said County Executive McCoy. “We’ve been able to get 1,368 people tested between our mobile sites and the drive-thru site in Colonie alone, and it’s our nurses and healthcare workers who have helped make that a reality, along with the contact tracing and phone calls that need to be made at our Department of Health.”

The County Executive shared a letter sent to him from a family member whose mother is at Shaker Place. She described how caring and dedicated the staff is and how much they have helped comfort her mother during this tough time when she has been sick. She wrote, “Thank you for being there for my mom while I can’t.”

County Executive McCoy also thanked Bob Crandall, Albany Area President of AJ Gallagher Risk Management for their donation of hundreds of face shields for our healthcare workers.

The remaining schedule for this week’s walk-up community COVID-19 testing can be found below, a partnership between County Executive McCoy and the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center. The initiative has been expanded to take a regional approach to testing and help more people. To date, 868 tests have been conducted at these sites. The schedule is based on demand and mobile site locations are updated weekly based on that need. 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

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

Rotating Locations & Dates for the Week of May 4

Each week the mobile sites will rotate morning & afternoon testing. The full updated schedule can be found here.

• Wednesday, May 6
  • 1:30 – 4:00 pm: Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet
• Thursday, May 7
  • 9:00 am – 12 noon: Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, Albany
  • 1:30 – 4:00 pm: Front of City Hall—62 Washington St, Rensselaer
• Friday, May 8
  • 9:00 am – 12 noon: Whitney Young Troy Health Center, 849 2nd Ave, Lansingburgh
  • 1:30 pm – 4:00pm: Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet

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.

County Executive McCoy also encouraged those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to register for 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. In the first 12 days, over 500 tests have been given. 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.