While Guilderland School Board members are frustrated with the county health department’s policy that quarantines asymptomatic students who may have been exposed to COVID-19, the county’s health commissioner notes the policy is recommended by both the state and the CDC and calls it an “essential strategy to reduce the spread of COVID in schools.”

On Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Biden-Harris Administration’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be making $750 million in additional American Rescue Plan funding available for New York’s Essential Plan.

Last year, international visits were down 86 percent from 2019, and domestic visits fell by 37 percent, generating a nearly 55-percent loss in direct spending and an almost 50-percent drop in economic impact — estimated at $100 billion in 2019.

At a White House press briefing on Monday, Nov. 1, Jeffrey Zients, coronavirus response coordinator, said, “As we await the CDC decision, we are not waiting on the operations and logistics ... we’ve secured enough vaccine for all 28 million kids ages 5 through 11.”

While Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the year-over-year growth in sales-tax revenues shows NewYork is experiencing economic recovery, he cautioned, “Local governments must closely watch changing economic conditions as supply-chain shortages and workforce disruptions may impact growth.”

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy continued to push residents to get vaccinated as he announced 122 new cases of COVID-19 — the third day in a row with new cases in the triple digits. There are now 538 active cases in the county, up from 512 on Thursday.

A third of parents with children between the ages of 5 and 11 say they will vaccinate their children right away, once the vaccine becomes available, according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a not-for-profit focusing on health-care issues.

The infection rate in Albany County is five times higher now than it was a year ago, said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “It’s alarming going into the winter season,” he said. McCoy said he was making a plea, reluctant to issue executive orders. But, if numbers continue to rise, he said on Monday, “There’s measures I will take.”

“We also continue to see the majority of those residents sent to the hospital with the virus haven’t gotten a shot,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.

The state, led by Governor Kathy Hochul, continues to pursue requirements that health-care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 while the State Senate Republicans, still opposed to the mandate, have proposed bills to incentivize health-care workers.