ALBANY COUNTY — Two more Albany County residents have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 49.

The patients were both women with underlying health conditions — one was in her seventies and the other was in her nineties. Both of them were residents of Shaker Place, the county’s nursing home.

Forty-eight residents of Shaker Place have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019, 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. Six residents of Shaker Place have died of the disease.

Reviewing the data that the county has posted on its website, the county’s health commissioner, Elizabeth Whalen, noted at Monday’s press briefing that “spikes” in confirmed cases occurred when the state tests nursing-home residents and staff, even those who are asymptomatic.

Altogether 11,563 Albany County residents have been tested and 10.9 percent of those have been positive for COVID-19. Deaths fall disproportionately on older residents with those aged 50 to 74 making up 46.8 percent of deaths and those 75 and older making up 53.2 percent of deaths.

She also noted, following a nationwide trend, that there are racial disparities with communities of color bearing a disproportionate amount of the disease.

Those Albany County residents identifying themselves as black or African American represent 26.1 percent of hospitalizations, 30.2 percent of admittance to intensive-care units, and 19.1 percent of deaths. They make up roughly 11.4 percent of Albany County’s population.

 For total positive cases by age in Albany County, the 50-to-59 age group has the highest number at 223 and the 20-to-29 age group is a close second with 208 cases. Frequently the younger people are asymptomatic and can unwittingly spread the disease.

Whalen said that, in some countries, such as Sweden, the thinking is, “If we know this is a disease that disproportionately affects older individuals, why don’t we just tell our older individuals to stay home?” The younger people, then, can continue going to work.

“The problem is … there will be deaths,” said Whalen. “The question is: How comfortable is a society with that?”

Whalen posed this question on the same day that Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined guidelines for when various regions of the state can open. 

Whalen went on, “Thus far, in New York State, we have not been comfortable with that and I think that is something we can all identify with and understand. We don’t want to put people at risk, and so we are encouraging even those with a mild course of COVID to practice social distancing and other strategies so they are protecting society as a whole.”

As the state of Georgia has reopened its economy, Whalen said, it will be “very important to watch what develops epidemiologically in the coming days and weeks.” She went on, “I expect we will see higher rates of illness and higher rates of death … There is no simple answer.”

Herd immunity, Whalen said, can prevent spread of a virus. But figuring out how many people need to have immunity — antibodies in their system from having been infected — so that it is safe to be back in society is “very problematic.”

With COVID-19, Whalen said, “We do not know that having a disease and having antibodies confers immunity and, if so, how long does it confer immunity. The best way to confer immunity is when you have a vaccine available.

“Some countries are using the concept of herd immunity to re-enter normal life without the vast containment strategies that we’ve implemented here,” she said.

Whalen concluded, “Ultimately, what we’re looking for is a vaccine,” She noted that a vaccine won’t be available for at least another year. She believes a phased approach is best to “inch back into life as we know it.”

Then, she said, the data must be followed closely. “If we see rates of disease and death go up … we may need to go back” to more constraints.

“The data we collect every day will be very important,” said Whalen.