The Capital Region is on track to start Phase 3 reopening on Wednesday.

As the Capital Region is on the cusp of entering the third of four reopening phases, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that residents of Phase 3 regions may gather in groups of 25 rather than the previous maximum of 10.

The governor has announced that low-risk youth sports can start July 6 for regions in Phase 3. Albany County, as part of the Capital Region, is slated to begin Phase 3 reopening on Wednesday.

New York State, the governor said, which had the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the United States and in the world now has the lowest transmission rate in the nation.

The county’s comptroller, Susan Rizzo, announced at Friday’s county press briefing that, as part of a recent refinancing, Standard & Poor’s has assessed Albany County’s credit worthiness, and reaffirmed its rating of AA “with a stable outlook while other municipalities were downgraded due to the pandemic.” She said the refinancing will save taxpayers over $1 million.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced, starting Thursday, that the state is allowing localities to open public pools and playgrounds at their discretion while following state guidance. Cuomo said of local governments, “They have to use their judgment here … They should be studying the test data, they should be looking at those positives and see where the positives are coming from. If the positives are in a cluster, a neighborhood that has that pool, don't open the pool.”

The Enterprise forum would not be valuable if I printed only the letters I liked. One of the reasons I believe our nation has become so polarized is that many Americans listen only to views that agree with theirs. My profound hope is that people with varied views can meet on the newspaper’s opinion pages. They can come to understand another’s viewpoint. That is the way our democracy moves forward.

The county, like the rest of the Capital Region, is in the second of four reopening phases. It is scheduled to enter Phase 3 on June 17. 

As the COVIID-19 numbers decline, Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said, “It is not we-are-out-of-the-woods news.” Whalen noted that, as other countries have reopened, there is almost always a spike in COVID-19 cases. “There’s a difference in areas that are vigilant in their reopening and areas that are not,” she said. 

Several citizens urged the zoning board not to allow a renovated McDonald’s to have triple the allowed signage.