ALBANY COUNTY — All health-care workers in the state will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday, Sept. 27, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

His press-release announcement  — Cuomo hasn’t held press events since announcing his resignation — said this directive applies to staff at hospitals and at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, adult care, and other congregate care settings.

There will be limited exceptions for those with religious or medical reasons.

Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration was briefed prior to the announcement, the release said. She will become governor next week.

So far, 75 percent of the state’s roughly 450,000 hospital workers, 74 percent of the state’s roughly 30,000 adult-care facility workers, and 68 percent of the state’s roughly 145,500 nursing home workers have completed their vaccine series, the release reported.

“New daily positives are up over 1000 percent over the last six weeks, and over 80 percent of recent positives in New York State are linked to the Delta variant ….,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I have strongly urged private businesses to implement vaccinated-only admission policies, and school districts to mandate vaccinations for teachers.

“Neither will occur without the state legally mandating the actions — private businesses will not enforce a vaccine mandate unless it’s the law, and local school districts will be hesitant to make these challenging decisions without legal direction.”

Since the state of emergency ended in June, Cuomo had left most directives up to individual municipalities, and the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, announced school rules were up to local districts. Subsequently, the State Education Department issued non-binding guidance for schools.

On July 28, Cuomo had announced that state employees and patient-facing employees in state-run hospitals are required to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day. State workers who choose to remain unvaccinated will be required to undergo weekly COVID testing.

On Aug. 2, he had announced that Metropolitan Transit Authority and Port Authority employees working in New York facilities will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by Labor Day

Booster vaccine

Cuomo also announced on Monday that the state’s health department has authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for New Yorkers with compromised immune systems, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation last week.

Eligible New Yorkers can receive their third dose 28 days after the completion of their two-dose vaccine series, effective immediately.

The CDC is currently recommending that moderately to severely immunocompromised people receive an additional dose, including people who have:

— Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood;

— Received an organ transplant and are taking medications to suppress the immune system;

— Received a stem-cell transplant within the last two years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system;

— Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);

— Advanced or untreated HIV infection; or

— Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, cancer chemotherapy that causes severe immunosuppression, or other medications that may suppress immune response.

New Yorkers should contact their healthcare provider about whether getting an additional dose is appropriate for them at this time.

Newest numbers

For the first time in weeks, the Capital Region on Sunday dropped to having the second-worst infection rate of any of the state’s 10 regions: 4.58 percent as a seven-day average. 

Central New York now has the worst rate at 4.67. Statewide, the infection rate is at 3.09 percent.

In Albany County, the infection rate, as of Sunday, as a seven-day rolling average, was 4.4 percent, according to the state’s dashboard.

The CDC continues to show Albany County with a high transmission rate (119.5 cases per 100,000 residents as a seven-day average) along with New York State (at 137.5 per 100,000).

The New England States, except Rhode Island; Michigan, Maryland, and Colorado are labeled as having substantial rates of transmission while every other state has a high rate.

The entire nation, according to CDC guidance, is to mask indoors in public whether vaccinated or not.

Over the weekend, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy reported 77 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 70 new cases on Sunday.

On Monday, he reported 39 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases to 380. The number of county residents under quarantine decreased to 697 from 717.

There were five new hospitalizations since Sunday, and 31 county residents are now hospitalized with the virus — a net increase of four. There are still two patients in intensive-care units.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 388.

“Unfortunately, I’ve had to report 16 new COVID hospitalizations in Albany County in just the last three days, and we now have the highest number of county residents hospitalized with the virus since April 26,” said McCoy in a statement. “The threat of COVID to unvaccinated individuals is real, as we’re seeing it play out here locally and much worse in other parts of the country and the world.

“We have more pop-up vaccine clinics coming up throughout Albany County, including through our partnership with the Altamont Fair. We also have daily clinics at the County Health Department and we continue to offer delivery services to the homebound. Please do your part to protect yourself and the community by getting the shot.”

According to the state’s vaccine tracker, as of Monday evening, 67.9 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents have received at least one dose of vaccine while 78.7 percent of residents 18 and older have done so.

Statewide, 65.2 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one shot while 77.6 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older have. At the same time, 58.4 percent of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated while 69.9 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older are fully vaccinated.