“It’s a complex plan that combines creating a healthy environment for businesses with communications and best practices,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy on Saturday as he released the Capital Region’s reopening plan.

Fifteen small businesses are the first to be awarded COVID-19 Grants from the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region. 

The program has been funded through donations from Neil and Jane Golub, the Capital Region Chamber, Berkshire Bank, Citizens Bank, KeyBank, as well as other municipalities and community organizations.

While half of the 10 regions in New York State were able to begin the first phase of reopening today, the Capital Region still has to meet two of five metrics.

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis in New York State, the attorney general’s office has been pursuing scammers and price gougers, advocating for small businesses, and protecting nursing-home residents, says Letitia James.

While a fifth region met the seven metrics on Thursday to begin reopening Friday, the Capital Region still hasn’t met the metrics for hospitalization and death rates.

With a pandemic nearly bringing the economy to a grinding halt for the past two months, problems have arisen for a major retailer looking to expand. 

Albany County Executive Daniel Mccoy says that the large number of nursing homes in the Capital Region are keeping the region from meeting one of the metrics needed to reopen.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy said at his Tuesday morning briefing, “Our report is pretty much done; we’re just waiting for sign-off from other counties.” In addition to Albany County, the Capital Region includes Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, and Washington counties.

The Albany County Health Department, said its commissioner, Elizabeth Whalen, is “working to make sure we have testing available and education available all across the county to every demographic to make sure everybody is aware of what they can do to prevent their risk and to be tested if they need to.”