At New Scotland Town Hall, it’s back to business as (the new) normal. 

If the Capital Region’s metrics hold, movie and film production can start again on July 1 and museums, aquariums, and zoos can open at 25-percent capacity. Other industries will be authorized on an individual basis dependent on associated risk levels and the current health data. Outdoor theme parks, indoor malls, gyms, and movie theaters have not yet been cleared to reopen at the beginning of Phase 4.

“When this started,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo of COVID-19 in New York, “we had more cases per capita than any state in the country or any nation on the globe. But today, we have done a full 180, from worst to first.”

“I think people need to realize that reopening is not flicking an ‘on’ switch. It’s a dial of continuum,” said Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen on Wednesday as the Capital Region entered the third of four reopening phases.

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.

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.