Melissa Fleischut posited that, since the governor had announced that 74 percent of COVID-19 cases were contracted through “living-room spread,” that is, people having small gatherings in their homes, restaurants would be safer places for gatherings.

Every week, when John Williams sends me his Old Men of the Mountain column, he writes a note in his email — sometimes humorous, sometimes philosophical.

Last week, he wrote about all the Christmas preparations he and his wife, Marlene, had underway.

I’m ashamed to say, my email in return said this:

GUILDERLAND — New cases of COVID-19 were announced in two separate emails by Guilderland school leaders on Friday evening.

Superintendent Marie Wiles wrote that the district had learned of five cases either late on Thursday or on Friday.

“Our clinical advisory task force approved Moderna this morning,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo at Friday’s press conference. New York expects to receive about 346,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week, pending final FDA authorization, Cuomo said. This is in addition to the 170,000 from Pfizer, which can now be stretched further.

Albany County records were broken Thursday for new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

ALBANY COUNTY — As about two feet of snow fell in Albany County overnight, local officials put out a flurry of emergency notices. Poor visibility from the fast-falling flakes made it tough to clear roads, the county executive said.

On Monday, the same day the first shots were given, Governor Andrew Cuomo did not discount an entire shutdown of the state if numbers don’t improve. “If we do not change the trajectory, we could very well be headed to shutdown,” he said.

Albany County’s health commissioner, Elizabeth Whalen, reiterated that residents, while they wait to hear from health-department staff, can consult the department’s website for guidance on isolation if they have tested positive for COVID-19 and on quarantine if they have been exposed to someone with the disease.

GUILDERLAND — Guilderland students in eighth through 12th grades will learn from home through the Christmas break, the school district announced on Tuesday.

The break begins on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

GUILDERLAND — On Monday evening, Guilderland High School Principal Michael Piscitelli sent an email to “GHS Families” to say that the school has four new cases of COVID-19.