When Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday afternoon, May 8, tweeted that she had tested positive for the virus — “Thankfully, I’m vaccinated and boosted, and I’m asymptomatic,” she posted — her followers were divided in their advice and remonstrances.

The report covers the 24 months between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021, representing 9.49 million more deaths than those globally reported as directly attributable to COVID-19.

ALBANY COUNTY — This week, as China’s strict zero-COVID policy is under strain, the more relaxed approach in the United States may be what led to the results in a recent report posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating that most Americans have been infected with the virus.

Since traditional methods of disease surveillance do not capture all COVID cases — some are asymptomatic, not diagnosed, or not reported — the researchers studied antibodies, known as seroprevalence, to understand the incidence of COVID-19.

“Our infection rate continues to rise at an alarming rate, and we are likely not detecting the full level of community spread as many at-home COVID tests go unreported,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.

The last time Albany County issued a mask advisory was in early December. It was issued jointly with Schenectady County as infection rates, after Thanksgiving gatherings, surged, topping the rates from a year ago. The Delta variant was still dominant.

“This virus continues to spread at a rapid rate, though the number of individuals in our hospitals is remaining relatively low and stable for now,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy on Friday. 

New Yorkers must wear masks on buses and in bus stations, on trains and in train stations, on subways and in subway stations, and in airports. They also must mask at homeless and domestic-violence shelters, correctional facilities, and state-regulated health-care and adult-care facilities and nursing homes.

Both the state and federal governments have renewed their public health emergencies because of the ongoing pandemic.

Some experts believe that part of the reason the current BA.2 uptick isn’t as severe as the drastic Omicron surge in January is because so many people were infected then that, vaccinated or not, they have immunity.