Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy began today’s briefing by thanking all veterans for their service and their families for their support. He then announced that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County has now climbed to 4,114 to date, an increase of 99 new positive cases since yesterday. Please note that our overall case count will fluctuate as the CommCare records for college students are transferred to the county in which they are isolating for their daily monitoring and then transferred back to Albany County for the final case count.

Additionally, the number of people under mandatory quarantine has increased to 1,492 from 1,437. The five-day average for new daily positives increased to 66 from 55. There are now 416 active cases in the county, up from 367 yesterday. So far, 18,233 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 3,698 of them had tested positive and recovered. Among the new positive cases, 41 had close contact with positive cases, three reported traveling out of state, 42 did not have a clear source of infection at this time, and 13 are healthcare workers or residents of congregate settings – though none from Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

There were two new hospitalizations to report overnight, while the number of county residents currently hospitalized due to the virus decreased to 35 from 36. There are five patients in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The hospitalization rate has gone down to 0.85% from 0.89%. There were no new COVID-related deaths to report, and the county’s death toll remains at 144 since the outbreak began.

The County Executive was joined at the press conference by Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen.

"Today marks the single largest daily increase of positive cases since we reported our first cases on March 12^th and we have the most people ever under mandatory quarantine as well,” said County Executive McCoy. “We are not moving in the right direction and personal responsibility is a big reason. If you don’t need to go somewhere, don’t. It’s not worth the potential exposure to COVID-19 and continuing to spread it throughout the community.”

Dr. Whalen reminded everyone that an infected person begins shedding the virus two days before he/she may even exhibit symptoms.

“Do the right thing. If you get the call and are told to quarantine, do it. If you test positive and the contact tracer asks where you have been and with whom, be honest,” continued McCoy. “Those answers could help save lives. We are honoring our veterans today for their service to uphold our freedom. Going into quarantine for 14 days and sharing all the information that contact tracers need is not something difficult to ask.”

Locations & Dates for the remainder of this week
 Albany has a location change and Watervliet is now drive-through
The full updated schedule can be found here.

Whitney Young Health Dental building (rear of building) – (new location) 900 Lark Drive, Albany

• Friday: 1:00–4:00pm

Watervliet Health Center, 1804 Second Ave, Watervliet (Mobile Site now Drive-through)

• Wednesday: 1:00–4:00pm

Community-wide testing continues on the University at Albany (SUNY) campus by appointment only for those with or without symptoms. Appointments may be made by calling the NYS hotline at 888-364-3065 or by visiting the State Department of Health website.

County Executive McCoy continues to highlight the testing site in Albany County at Priority 1 Urgent Care, which also provides antibody testing, located in Hamilton Square at 2080 Western Avenue in Guilderland. 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. Priority 1 is also now doing antibody testing. To schedule an appointment, you can call (518) 867-8040.

The County Executive also encourages those who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to register for the drive-thru community testing site at Rite Aid, 1863 Central Avenue in Colonie. 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.

Walgreens is now operating a testing facility at the 41 Holland Avenue location utilizing a self-collection model. Residents will be able to remain in their cars while assisted by pharmacists when necessary. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, individuals who are 18 years or older may be tested once completing an eligibility assessment at the Walgreens website or at their app. Patients can get their results from PWNHealth.

Price Chopper/Market 32 is piloting a free COVID-19 test program at three of its New York drive-thru pharmacies. Customers can register for a test at the website here and they will get a voucher to go to one of the testing sites on a specific date. Local participating pharmacies are in Latham, Clifton Park and Johnstown. Testing is on Tuesdays from 7am- 9am. Customers won’t leave their car and will administer the test themselves with guidance from a pharmacist. Results will be provided by eTrueNorth within three to five business days. This is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

CVS is offering drive-thru testing at select stores. You must register online for an appointment. To do that and find locations offering the drive-thru testing, go to the CVS website.

For the all latest data on COVID testing and results, you can refer to the Albany County COVID-19 Data Dashboard, as well as the New York State Department of Health COVID-19 Tracker.

For those experiencing stress, anxiety or depression during the ongoing pandemic and gun violence in the City of Albany, the Albany County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week, from 8am to 5pm at (518) 269-6634. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500. The 24-hour sexual assault hotline number is (518) 447-7716.