coronavirus

Some counties in New York State are designated as “high” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We will allow them the flexibility to determine what’s best for their county,” said Governor Kathy Hochul in terms of masking in schools. Albany County is “medium,” meaning no masks are required.

The announcement follows changes in federal guidance on mask-wearing, announced on Friday, which Hochul said “surprised a lot of people.” Mask requirements remain in effect “for the time being,” Hochul said, in state-regulated health-care settings, state-regulated adult-care facilities and nursing homes, in correctional facilities, in homeless shelters, and in domestic violence shelters.

Another Albany County resident, a man in his nineties, died of COVID-19 on Thursday, according to a Friday morning release from Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. This brings Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll to 528.

As the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to plummet from the mid-January Omicron peak, both statewide and in Albany County, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that all hospitals across the state can now perform elective procedures. The state had kept a list of hospitals, which Albany Medical Center was initially on, where staffed bed capacity was less than 10 percent, meaning elective procedures couldn’t be performed.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy opened his Feb. 21 Black History Month forum by saying he was proud that the county had brought COVID-19 testing into minority communities and also partnered with an ambulance company to bring vaccines to residents. According to the county’s records, a disproportionate number of white, rather than Black or Hispanic, residents died of COVID-19.

The new multi-pronged state plan includes $27.5 million a year for in-patient psychiatric beds, $9 million annually to recruit psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners; and $12.5 million a year for 500 more beds to house homeless people in their communities.

In talking to Guilderland’s school administrators and to the district’s Recovery Task Force, Superintendent Marie Wiles said they felt that, when there is no longer a mandate from “a higher authority,” Guilderland would change its requirement to this: “We highly recommend masks but we don’t require them.”

ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County, like the rest of the state, was in a holding pattern this week as the number of new COVID-19 cases and COVID-related hospitalizations continued to fall but mask mandates remain in places that Governor Kathy Hochul termed vulnerable — like schools — and also where large numbers of people gather and contact

Individuals may receive a maximum of $9,000 per deceased individual and a maximum of $35,500 per application, if they incurred funeral expenses for multiple deceased individuals.

While hospitals, physicians’ offices, outpatient care centers, and other health-care facilities have nearly reached or surpassed pre-pandemic staffing levels, long-term care facilities are still experiencing substantial job losses, according to a new report from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.

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