Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced today that as of this morning, there are now 1,277 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 1,041 people under mandatory quarantine and 5 people under precautionary quarantine. To date, 2,894 individuals have completed quarantine, with 753 of them having tested positive and recovered. Sadly, overnight there were three additional deaths – a man and a woman in their in their 70’s and another woman in her 80’s, all with underlying health issues. The death toll for the county now stands at 56. He made the announcement with County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen.

With 28 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 2.19%, down from 2.55% yesterday. The number of those individuals who are in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is now at 7, down one since yesterday’s briefing. There are now 50 residents in total at Shaker Place who have tested positive for COVID-19, including two who have recovered. Additionally, 18 employees who have tested positive remain out of work, while nine others who had tested positive have fully recovered and returned to work. 

The County Executive also took time to highlight the letter he sent to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy seeking direct, flexible aid to counties and localities with populations of 500,000 people and fewer. Tina Sodhi, the Albany County Alternate Public Defender, also joined him for the daily briefing to discuss how the criminal justice system and arraignments specifically have transitioned to remote, virtual technology to adapt to the ongoing pandemic. 

“As much as it pains me to have to report even more deaths due to COVID-19, I know I am not the only county leader who has to do it. Families across the country are suffering and counties and localities of all sizes and political ideologies are being hurt financially. That’s why the next federal relief package needs to include aid to smaller local governments to ensure we can continue to respond to the pandemic,” said County Executive McCoy, “Albany County alone could be facing a $30 million deficit from steep drops in sales tax revenue, and an updated report from NYSAC found that counties across the state stand to lose up to $3.6 billion.”

Designated courts in Albany County remain open and County Alternate Public Defender Sodhi described how the Albany County Courthouse is the main hub for arraignments for those who are arrested. Arraignments are conducted 24/7 and are handled virtually though Skype with the help of a skeleton crew at the courthouse. Overall, crime has gone down, including in the areas of petty larceny, with many stores being shuttered; drug charges, with fewer vehicles and traffic offenses; and drug sales charges, with grand jury proceedings being shut down. On the other hand, there have been upticks in domestic incidents accounting for 25% of the 150 arraignments. Additionally, the number of some felonies have remained steady, including burglaries, robberies and weapons charges.

The County Executive shared news about the Albany International Airport food drive-thru from 3pm to 5pm this afternoon with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York handing out food supplies to those who need them. He also thanked the Slingerlands Price Chopper for a donation of fruit made to the South End Children’s Care and delivered by county probation officers.

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, 935 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

• 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.

• Thursday, May 7
  • 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.