ALBANY COUNTY — The state’s infection rate for COVID-19 dropped below 4 percent for the first time since Nov. 30, the start of the holiday surge.

The seven-day average positivity rate dropped to 3.9 percent, according to a release from Governor Andrew Cuomo’soffice on Saturday morning. That rate is down 51 percent from the post-holiday peak in early January, and marks 36 consecutive days of decline.

In Albany County, the seven-day rolling average on Friday was 2.7 percent, according to the state’s dashboard.

On Saturday morning, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced another COVID-related death — a woman in her eighties — bringing the county’s death toll to 339.

The good news from the governor’s office, though, was balanced with news that 11 more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 — the highly transmissible variant first identified in the United Kingdom — have been identified in New York State.

Eight of the new B.1.1.7 cases were in New York City, two were in Suffolk County, and one was in Rockland County — that county’s first case.

As of Saturday morning, there are 70 known cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in New York City and in these counties: Saratoga, Warren, Onondaga, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Ulster, Essex, Jefferson, Tompkins, Allegany, and Niagara.

As of Saturday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage tracking COVID-19 variants still had New York listed at just 59 cases of B.1.1.7 — so not including the 11 new ones.

The CDC nationwide tally was 981 cases identified in 37 states. Florida had the most cases with 347, followed by California with 159.

Hospitalization rates from COVID-19, like infection rates, are continuing to fall statewide and in Albany County.

As of Saturday morning, Albany County has had 19,503 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 65 new cases McCoy announced on Saturday morning.

Of the new cases, 34 did not have clear sources of infection identified, 25 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, five were health-care workers or residents of congregate settings, and one had traveled out of state.

The five-day average for new daily positives has decreased to 82.8 from 84.8. There are now 788 active cases in the county, up from 787 on Friday

The number of county residents under mandatory quarantine increased to 1,914 from 1,805. So far, 59,755 residents have completed quarantine. Of those, 18,715 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 59 recoveries since Friday.

There were three new hospitalizations overnight, and there are now 84 county residents currently hospitalized from the virus. There are now 14 patients in intensive-care, down from 17 yesterday.

Among the state’s 10 regions, the Capital Region continues to have the worst rates for availability of hospital beds and of ICU beds.

According to a release from the governor’s office on Saturday morning, there are currently 283 Capital Region residents hospitalized with COVID-19, which is 0.03 percent of the region’s population, and leaves 29 percent of its hospital beds available — a percentage that continues to improve.

Statewide, 0.04 percent of New Yorkers are hospitalized with the disease, leaving 33 percent of hospital beds available statewide.

Currently, 190 of the Capital Region’s 240 ICU beds are filled, leaving 18 percent available.

Statewide, 37 percent of ICU beds are available.

“We get one step closer to ending this crisis every day,” said McCoy in a release, “as more people get their vaccination shots.”

The governor’s office reported in a Saturday morning release that the Capital Region has administered 166,773 of the 207,005 vaccine doses it has been given this week, which is 81 percent.

Statewide, 83 percent of doses have been administered.

Now in its ninth week of receiving vaccine doses from the federal government, based on population, New York State has received 3.26 million doses so far.