ALBANY COUNTY — The rate of transmission for COVID-19 in Albany County is now labeled “high” — the top or worst of four rankings — by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Monday, as a seven-day average, Albany County has a transmission rate of 103.76 new cases per 100,000 residents.

The United States is now averaging over 100,000 new cases a day, which hasn’t happened since February, the CDC noted on Monday. The seven-day average of new cases has doubled in the last two weeks as has the death rate.

The highly contagious Delta variant, which can infect and be transmitted by vaccinated people, now makes up the vast majority of cases.

Overall, the United States has a “high” rate of transmission at 205.4 cases per 100,000.

Just 13 states are in the “substantial” range, with between 50 and 99 cases per 100,000 residents: Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Just one state, Vermont, has a “moderate” rate at 45.4 per 100,000 residents, and no states are labeled as having “low” transmission.

New York State as a whole is defined as having a high rate of transmission at 122.6 per 100,000 residents.

Any area with over 50 cases per 100,000 — areas with both substantial and high transmission rates — triggers CDC advice to wear masks indoors in public regardless of vaccination status.

The Capital Region continues to have the worst rate of infection of any of New York State’s 10 regions, at 4.37 percent, as a seven-day average as of Sunday. The statewide average is 2.96 percent.

Albany County’s infection rate is 5.2 percent as of Sunday, as a seven-day average, according to the state’s dashboard.

On Monday morning, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy reported, in a release, 59 new cases of COVID-19: 34 did not have a clear source of infection identified, 22 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, two are health-care workers or residents of congregate living settings, and one reported traveling out of state.

The county’s five-day average of new daily positive cases is now 55.4

There are now 317 active cases in Albany County, up from 302 since on Sunday, McCoy reported. The number of county residents under quarantine increased to 566 from 521.  

There were three new hospitalizations since Sunday, and 19 county residents are now hospitalized with the virus — a net increase of three. There are still three patients in intensive-care units.

“Unfortunately, COVID hospitalizations continue to rise in Albany County, with the total number of residents in the hospital going from 11 to 19 just over the weekend,” said McCoy in the release. “That number hasn’t been this high since May 12.

“As infections increase because of the Delta variant, we are likely to see even more people getting sick and needing hospital treatment. I urge everyone to help us stop the spread of the virus by getting vaccinated if you haven’t yet, and by wearing masks when indoors at public places and at large gatherings.”

According to the state’s vaccine tracker, as of Monday evening, 67.4 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents have received at least one dose of vaccine while 78.2 of the county’s adults have.

Statewide, 64.3 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose while 76.6 percent of New Yorkers 18 or older have.