“This variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in samples dating back to the beginning of October 2020,” reports the CDC, and also says, “Currently there is no evidence to suggest that this variant has any impact on disease severity.”

Starting on Wednesday, the state will ask local districts to report on how many teachers have been vaccinated and how many are teaching in-person classes.

Originally, scientists thought that the B.1.17 variant, while more transmissible, was not more severe. Recently, however, British scientists have reported “updated and additional analyses, which together strengthen the earlier finding of increased disease severity in people infected with VOC B.1.1.7 compared to other virus variants.”

“Tragically, and even worse,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, “life expectancy dropped by almost three years for African Americans and two years for Hispanics. This is exactly the reason why we need to continue to work towards getting the vaccine to our most vulnerable populations and minority communities.”

In November 2019, Albany Country Club proposed changing the zoning of 549 acres from Rural Agricultural to Country Hamlet for a 290-unit development consisting of 100 single-family homes, 100 townhomes, and 90 multi-family units.

The Empire Center, which went to court to get data from the state on nursing-home deaths in New York, released an

“We want to see more Black and brown members of the community coming into our PODs,” Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said of points of dispensing

Much of the week’s focus turned to the cascading criticism of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of nursing home death counts.

Andrew Cuomo began his lengthy response at Monday’s press conference by saying, “Emergency powers have nothing to do with nursing homes.” On the balance of power, Cuomo said that the State Legislature could reverse any of his actions with a vote of 50 percent in the Assembly and the Senate. “They have never reversed a single action,” he said.

The South African strain of COVID-19, known as B.1.351, was first confirmed in the United States on Jan. 28 in South Carolina. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention webpage that tracks three variant strains, as of Monday evening, there were a total of 17 cases of B.1.351 across eight states.