ALBANY COUNTY — Although Albany County, in its 30th week of coping with COVID-19, continues this fall to have more cases than it did during the summer — 27 new cases were reported on Wednesday — it is not one of the state’s hotspots, which has been the governor’s focus this week.

On Friday, Elizabeth Whalen, the county’s health commissioner said, “We are starting to see a little bit of an uptick in cases.” She said it is too soon to say if this is the surge some expected in the fall as schools reopened and people moved more indoors.

For the last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo has talked about COVID-19 clusters in Orange and Rockland counties — in the Mid-Hudson Region — and in Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. On Tuesday, he also added Binghamton in Broome County, in central New York near its southern border. Cuomo mentioned, too, “colleges upstate” and Nassau County on Long Island.

On Wednesday, Cuomo reported that, in the hotspot areas, 5.1 percent of people tested for COVID-19 had positive results — five times as high as the rest of the state where the positivity rate was 1.05 percent.

The hotspot ZIP code with the highest rate — 17.80 percent for a 14-day average — is in Orange County. The Capital Region, of which Albany County is a part, had a positivity rate of 0.9 percent announced no Wednesday.

Twenty percent of all new hospital admissions for COVID-19 have come from the 20 hotspot ZIP codes, Cuomo said on Wednesday, although those areas represent less than 7 percent of the state’s population.

The coronavirus disease 2019 “seeps and grows” from a cluster almost in concentric circles, Cuomo said at a press conference in New York City on Tuesday, announcing the Cluster Action Initiative.

“Drop a pebble into the pond, the pebble goes in, then there’s one ring, two rings, three rings, and the rings continue across the pond. When you see the cluster, you have to stop it at that point,” he said.

The new initiative has three steps: dramatic action within the cluster, further action surrounding the cluster to stop the spread, and precautionary action in the outlying communities

With the help of national public-health experts, maps were developed with protocols for the regions with clusters. The map for Brooklyn, for example, shows a large red cluster zone in the center with a narrow orange band around it, which is the warning zone; and then a large outer yellow precautionary zone.

Each zone has its own rules. In the center cluster zone, for example, mass gatherings are prohibited, only essential businesses are open, restaurants can serve take-out only, and schools must teach only remotely.

In the warning zone, only 10 people can gather, high-risk businesses such as gyms and hair salons are closed, only outdoor dining is allowed, and schools must teach remotely.

In the precautionary zone, up to 25 people can gather, businesses are open, restaurants can serve diners indoors and out but only four to a table, and schools are open with mandatory weekly testing of a percentage of students and staff.

 “Erring on the side of caution means closing school buildings when there is serious risk of spreading COVID-19, and we believe the state is taking the right steps by seeking to close schools in these hotspots,” said New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta in a statement on Tuesday.

“At the same time,” Pallotta went on, “we are seeking additional details on the state’s testing plan for students and staff in an in-person setting in the outlying areas of these hotspots.”

Leading up to Cuomo’s announcement of the plan, there had been contention between Cuomo and New York City’s mayor, Bill De Blasio, who had released his own plan on Sunday. Cuomo noted at Tuesday’s press briefing that no mayor or county executive has the authority to institute closures.

The enforcement of the new rules have to be in effect no later than Friday. The fines for sponsors of mass gatherings in violation of the rules will be increased to $15,000, Cuomo said.

“Local governments must enforce the law,” Cuomo said during the briefing. He has long chided local governments for their lack of enforcement.

“I understand these are all difficult acts to enforce. These are state laws. Blame me. I have no problem with that,” said Cuomo.

He also said, “You have a lot of tensions with law enforcement in some of these communities.”

Further, Cuomo said, “We’re all citizens. It’s not government’s job to catch you. It’s the citizen’s obligation to do the right thing.”

Many of the communities with clusters have large Orthodox Jewish populations. “I spoke to members of the Orthodox Jewish community today. I spoke to the leaders myself this morning,” said Cuomo on Tuesday. “We had a very good conversation. These rules will apply to all houses of worship.”

Houses of worship in the cluster red zones are allowed 25-percent capacity with a 10-person maximum. In the orange warning zones, 33-percent capacity, with 25 people maximum, is allowed. In the yellow precautionary zone, houses of worship are at 50-percent capacity.

Cuomo went on about his Tuesday conversation with Orthodox leaders, “I said to them that I’m doing this for a very simple reason, because I have such respect and love for the Orthodox community … The Torah speaks about how certain religious obligations can be excused if you are going to save a life. This is about saving a life.”

Cuomo spoke, too, about President Donald Trump’s recent messages on COVID-19, urging people to not be afraid of the virus. Cuomo noted that, on hearing of Donald and Melania Trumps’ diagnosis, he had wished them both a speedy recovery and sent a care package from New York State.

However, Cuomo was critical of Trump’s recent messages that he was doing well and the public shouldn’t worry about COVID-19. He noted that the average citizen sick with COVID-19 doesn’t get the sort of care the president received, and the disease has killed over 210,000 Americans.

“Be afraid of COVID. It can kill you. Don’t be cavalier ….,” said Cuomo. “Denial doesn’t work … Acknowledge the problem. It’s a frightening virus. Be smart. Be careful. Don’t hide under your bed.”

Cuomo also announced that New Mexico has been added to the state’s COVID-19 travel advisory; no areas have been removed. Travelers from places in the list must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival to New York.

Finances

On Wednesday, in a phone conference with the press, Cuomo questioned President Trump’s statement that he would not negotiate on state and local aid. Cuomo called that stance “the height of unreasonableness.”

“You’re talking about providing assistance to states and localities that were hurt by COVID and every economic expert will tell you if you starve the state and local governments you will hurt the overall national economy,” said Cuomo. “This is no time to get petulant … Try to find a path. Try to find compromise. Try to find a solution.”

On Thursday, Oct. 1, New York’s county leaders, meeting virtually for the New York State Association of Counties’ fall seminar, had renewed their call for the White House and Congressional leaders to negotiate an agreement to give local government direct coronavirus stimulus aid.

“We are in the middle of a national emergency that is impacting every community in New York and across the country,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, who is completing his two-year term as president of the NYS County Executives’ Association, in a statement. “The federal government has provided emergency assistance to businesses and individuals, now it must do the same for the local governments who have been most impacted by this public health crisis so we can continue to battle COVID-19 and prevent further damage to our economy.” 

Statewide, the picture on the economy remains bleak.

The state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, released two reports this week — on jobs and on sales-tax revenues — with bad news.

 The report on job losses, focusing on New York City restaurants, showed taxable sales for the city’s restaurant industry fell by 71 percent during March, April, and May compared to a year earlier, and tens of thousands of jobs have been lost.

“Restaurants reflect our diversity, employing tens of thousands of immigrants and providing a range of options fitting for a world-class metropolis,” said DiNapoli in a statement, releasing the report.

Besides just restaurants, job losses caused by the COVID-19 recession are concentrated in the lower-paid sector. New Yorkers making low wages continue to suffer a disproportionate share of job losses statewide and especially in New York City, DiNapoli found.

Among the nearly 1.3 million net jobs the state lost from March through August, more than 320,000 were in hotels and food services. These losses represented 41 percent of jobs in the industry before the recession hit, and one in every four jobs lost in all sectors statewide.

Workers in food and accommodation services are disproportionately likely to be Black or Hispanic, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average annual wage in 2019 for hotel and restaurant workers was $30,689, less than half the overall average for the state of $75,367.

Retail trade, another sector with comparatively low wages, lost 93,000 jobs, one in every 10 of its previous total.

By contrast, finance and insurance employment, among the highest paid jobs in New York State, declined by 19,000 or 3.7 percent. Professional services positions, another higher-paid sector, saw a decline of 60,000 or 8.6 percent.

On Tuesday, DiNapoli released a report on plummeting sales-tax revenues, which municipalities across the state depend on.

New York’s municipalities collected nearly $17 billion in sales tax revenue in 2019, representing 9.7 percent of all local government revenue, the report said. In Albany County, that percentage is much higher.

“COVID-19 has decimated local sales tax revenue this year, blowing holes in the budgets of municipalities across New York State,” DiNapoli said in a statement, releasing the report. “As we work to rebuild our economy, we must also help repair the damage that has already been inflicted. Just as our Main Street small businesses can’t rebuild alone, our local governments don’t have the means to do this themselves. Direct aid from the federal government is needed to help our communities recover.”

Two brighter notes on Tuesday were announcements on funding for libraries and telehealth for addicts.

The New York State Library announced $1,757,794 in funds from the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act are being made available  to help libraries across the state prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19, including to expand digital network access, purchase internet accessible devices, and provide technical support services.

The funds were awarded to the New York State Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“The board and I are committed to finding real and sustainable solutions that will address the digital divide in New York State,” said Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown in a statement announcing the funds. “These funds will support these efforts and create and expand resources that will prove useful through the pandemic and beyond.”

Cuomo on Tuesday announced a second round of awards of more than $423,000 for the purchase and installation of equipment to deliver addiction telehealth services statewide. Funding was provided through the federal State Opioid Response Grant. More than $460,000 was awarded in the first round of this funding, bringing the total amount awarded to more than $883,000.

“As we continue to fight against COVID-19, we must also continue our efforts to provide quality care and access to addiction treatment services,” said Cuomo in a statement announcing the funding. “These investments in telepractice services will help ensure underserved communities have the necessary resources and access to life-saving addiction treatment services, as we battle the scourge of addiction.”

In Albany County, Equinox will receive $15,000 and so will the Whitney Young Health Center.

Earlier in the week, Cuomo had announced regulations requiring insurers to put into place policies to provide comparable coverage for mental-health and substance use-disorders. The parity compliance program regulations were proposed by the state’s departments of health and of financial services and go into effect on Dec. 29.

“The trauma this pandemic has caused is incalculable and cannot be ignored, and it’s especially critical that those who struggle with mental health and substance abuse have the support they need,” Cuomo said in a statement announcing the regulations.

CDC update

New CDC guidance released on Monday says that coronavirus disease 2019 spreads mainly from person-to-person contact rather than through touching contaminated surfaces.

“People who are infected but do not show symptoms can also spread the virus to others,” it says.

In addition to people spreading respiratory droplets to others standing within six feet of them, as has been widely publicized, the disease can also be spread by airborne transmission.

“Small droplets and particles ... can linger in the air for minutes to hours,” says the CDC. “These viruses may be able to infect people who are further than 6 feet away from the person who is infected or after that person has left the space.”

The CDC cites cases where transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation and says, “Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising … The people who were infected were in the same space during the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left.”

The CDC is aware, it says, of a small number of pets worldwide, including cats and dogs, reported to be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, mostly after close contact with people with COVID-19. “At this time, the risk of COVID-19 spreading from animals to people is considered to be low,” it says.

Asked at Monday’s press conference if the six feet reporters stay from each other at such events is safe, in light of the recent finding on aerosols, Cuomo said, “The CDC’s rule is six feet, the state law is six feet. If there’s new data, and we should come up with a new law, then the CDC could do that. The department of health could do that. But the law is six feet. That is the law.”

He also said, “The law says a mask, not ear muffs because we don’t believe the virus goes in your ear. Maybe somebody will do an article saying it can invade your ear and then we’ll have a new mask with ear muffs.”

Tracker app

On Thursday, Oct. 1, New York and New Jersey launched a free app that will let people with smartphones find out if they have been near someone with COVID-19.

New York and New Jersey are joining Pennsylvania and Delaware in the COVID Alert system, and Connecticut is expected to join the Exposure Notification System soon.

Testing, Cuomo told the press on Thursday, is to identify an infected person so that person can be isolated. The people the COVID-19 patient has been in contact with are then traced, with 15,000 “disease detectives” working statewide, Cuomo said.

The COVID Alert NY app, which can be downloaded for free, “knows where your cell phone is; the app will know where a person who tested positive was through their cell phone, and the app can tell you if you were within six feet of that person,” Cuomo said.

He went on to explain, “The way it will work is, when a person tests positive, the Department of Health contacts that person and asks that person if they have an iPhone and then gives that person a password. That person types in their password for their phone, and then any other phone that comes within six feet of that phone is on the app. It doesn’t give names. It doesn’t give any private information. It’s voluntary.”

Lawrence Schwartz, whom Cuomo called a volunteer, said, “It’s completely confidential. We don’t collect any data. We don’t track people so if there’s any concern it’s a completely voluntary program.”

The app can be used by anyone 18 or older; it complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Schwartz said, and it’s in the top six languages spoken in New York State: English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian, and Haitian Creole.

Two pilot tests were done, Schwartz said. One was with 1,000 State University of New York students, including on the Albany campus.

Bloomberg Philanthropies worked on the project, Cuomo said, and brought in Google, Apple, and other technology companies.

“COVID Alert NY app is live today,” said Schwartz last Thursday. “It works on both Apple iPhones as well as any Android phone so you can either go to the Apple store, the Google Play store and download that app.”

On Friday, Albany County Executive McCoy and Health Commissioner Whalen both said they were using the app and encouraged county residents to do so as well.

“The app is pretty cool,” said McCoy. “It doesn’t give up your information.”

Newest numbers

As of Wednesday morning, Albany County has 3,104 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019, according to a release from the county executive’s office.

Of the 27 new cases, 15 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, one reported out-of-state travel, and 11 did not have a clear source of transmission detected at this time. Separately, seven of the reported positives are associated with the University at Albany.

Albany County now has 937 residents under quarantine, down slightly from 941 on Tuesday. The five-day average for new daily positives decreased slightly to 19 from 19.2.

The county now has 119 active cases, up from 103 on Tuesday.

So far, 13,187 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 2,985 of them had tested positive and recovered. 

Four county residents remain hospitalized with COVID-19; one patient is in an intensive-care unit. The county’s hospitalization rate is still at 0.12 percent.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 135.