Albany County’s health commissioner and executive have frequently urged residents to stay home with their immediate families for Thanksgiving. Both McCoy and Whalen have said that they themselves are not gathering with extended family but rather dining just with immediate family members at home.

As sales-tax revenues continue to fall short of last year’s mark and as New York State residents continue to pay more in federal taxes than the state gets back in programs, according to new reports from the comptroller’s office, Governor Andrew Cuomo has sent a letter to congressional leaders urging quick passage of more federal pandemic relief.

If Albany County stays above the 3-percent threshold for 10 days, it will be declared a yellow zone, the least restrictive of the three zones in the state’s micro-cluster strategy, which began on Oct. 6.

So far this school year, the Guilderland school district has had 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The district enrolls close to 5,000 students.

“It’s true that New York’s pandemic benchmarks are currently low compared to the rest of the country. At the current rate of increase, however, the state is on track to catch up,” wrote Bill Hammond in an Empire Center report.

Vaccination is the only acceptable form of herd immunity, according to the head of the World Health Organization.

What is Thanksgiving about? It’s about pilgrims coming to a new land, a harsh wilderness where many died, and celebrating their survival at harvest time with the natives who made their survival possible. We are now in that wilderness. We need to help each other survive. 

The now-1,200 square-foot Pakistani restaurant will be housed in the former Subway sandwich shop. The space has been under construction for some time, but now, with a permit in hand, it can open for business. Nadia Raza, Curry Patta’s owner, told The Enterprise she anticipates opening the weekend of Dec. 4.

Although Albany County has come close to being named a yellow zone, it has so far avoided that designation — and the restrictions that would come with it.

The fifth case, at Guilderland High School, was announced Wednesday in an email from Superintendent Marie Wiles. That last case forced the high school to all-remote learning, beginning on Thursday, Nov. 19, and lasting until Thanksgiving break, which starts on Tuesday, Nov. 24.