ALBANY COUNTY — COVID-19 cases continue to tick up in Albany County as the county’s vaccination rate remains stubbornly at just under 75 percent.

“I’m happy that I can report no new COVID deaths in Albany County since the last update on our pandemic response and the number of people in the hospital with the virus remains stable, despite the continued uptick in daily infections,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy in his Friday release on the coronavirus.

“As the new Omicron subvariant drives up infection rates across the state, it’s critical that more people get vaccinated and get their booster shots,” he went on.

Consequently, the county is hosting a pop-up vaccine clinic on Saturday at Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls.

Meanwhile, all 15 of the state’s vaccine sites, including the one at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, remain open and New Yorkers over the age of 50 are encouraged to get a second booster in accordance with the recently expanded guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People age 50 and older as well as immunocompromised people are now eligible for a second boosher shot.

While Albany County’s most recent seven-day average of positive tests is at 3.8 percent, statewide, that number as of March 31 is 16.03 percent.

A Friday release from the governor’s office explained that the figure included at-home tests reported from Onondaga County. Without the at-home tests from Onondaga County, the statewide average is 15.63.

The governor’s office said that future reporting will not include home test data to ensure alignment with other counties.

This underscores a dilemma because many sick New Yorkers are now testing themselves at home.

On Thursday, Kathy Hochul’s office sent out a release announcing nearly 70 million COVID tests have been distributed to New Yorkers.

Consequently, as more New Yorkers use at-home tests over on-site testing, the state is scaling down its testing sites. The state has retained contracts to swiftly reopen testing sites through June if needed, the release said.

Nearly 100,000 tests have been conducted at state testing sites since Jan. 7. There are 1,910 registered locations to obtain a test in New York State; locations can be found here. 

“As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, test kits are a critical tool in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent exposure to others,” Hochul said in the release.

As health departments in New York State and elsewhere are no longer doing the contact tracing they did for most of the first two years of the pandemic, the federal government has launched a website to help Americans figure out, as individuals, how to deal with COVID-19.

The “toolkit” has links to find test-to-treat locations, vaccine sites, and how to order masks and self-administered tests.

“The distribution of at-home COVID-19 tests is a critical tool helping to curb spread in our communities …,” said Mary Bassett, New York’s health commissioner, in a statement. 

Bassett cited new research released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stressing the importance of equity in pandemic response. “In getting tests to nursing homes, senior centers, food banks, and NYC Housing Authority tenants, and in keeping our state-run mass vaccination sites open to all, that’s exactly what New York State is doing,” said Bassett.

The CDC study said that home-test use was lower among people who self-identified as Black, were 75 or older, ​​had lower incomes, and had a high school level education or less.

“COVID-19 testing, including at-home tests, along with prevention measures such as quarantine and isolation when warranted, wearing a well-fitted mask when recommended after a positive test or known exposure, and staying up to date with vaccination can help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” the CDC says. “Providing reliable and low-cost or free at-home test kits to underserved populations with otherwise limited access to COVID-19 testing could assist with continued prevention efforts.”

Also, on Wednesday, the CDC updated its “Quarantine and Isolation Calculator” so that Americans, by themselves, can “determine how long you need to isolate, quarantine, or take other steps to prevent spreading COVID-19,” the site says.

The calculator is meant to help a person who is exposed to COVID figure out precisely how long to quarantine, and a person sick with COVID how long to isolate. The site also includes guidance on what to do during and after quarantine or isolation periods.

On Friday, McCoy also reported the county’s seven-day average of new daily cases is up to 56.1 and that the count of COVID cases per 100,000 is now up to 11.3. There are now 13 county residents hospitalized with the virus, with one in an intensive-care unit.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 538.

Immigration ban to be lifted

On Friday, April 1, the CDC announced that the emergency public health order banning migrants entering the United States, placed two years ago, will be lifted on May 23.

“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the announcement said.

The CDC noted that, in the current public-health landscape, 97.1 percent of the United States population lives in a county identified as having a “low” community level of COVID-19.

The May 23 date, the CDC said, will give the Department of Homeland Security “time to implement appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants and prepare for resumption of regular migration under Title 8.”

Help for tourism

On Wednesday, Hochul said applications are being accepted for two tourism grant programs:

— The $100 million Tourism Return-to-Work program; and

— The $25 million Meet in New York grant program.

Before the pandemic, tourism supported one in 10 jobs throughout the state, according to a release from the governor’s office.

The Return-to-Work program will give qualified businesses grants of $5,000 for each new full-time job added and $2,500 for each part-time job added between January and June 2022. Details are posted at the state site.

The Meet in New York program will give grants to conference venues and licensed overnight lodging facilities, provided as reimbursement. The program is limited to new events and applications are due by Dec. 31, 2022.