ALBANY COUNTY — In its 39th week of coping with COVID-19, Albany County broke several records more than once, and the county executive, Daniel McCoy, announced nine deaths from the disease, starting with five last Thursday.
With a continuing surge in COVID-19 cases, the county’s health department is deluged with calls and is experiencing a backlog, its commissioner said. She urged residents who test positive for the virus to look at guidance for isolation on the department’s website, and residents who have been exposed to COVID-19 to look for guidance on following quarantine protocols.
The county’s $719.3 million spending plan for next year is down significantly from this year’s adjusted budget, which is now set to be $747.3 million — up about $14 million from what was originally proposed around this time last year.
ALBANY COUNTY — Governor Andrew Cuomo today directed the state’s health department to begin the surge-and-flex protocol that will have all hospitals expand their bed capacity by 25 percent to handle surges of COVID-19.
ALBANY COUNTY — Leaders from nearby Rensselaer and Schenectady counties joined Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, a Democrat, at his Saturday morning press conference to present a united front in the battle against COVID-19.
Since the springtime surge of COVID-19, the length of hospital stays for COVID patients has been more than cut in half, says the governor, and the death rate of hospitalized patients has gone from 23 percent to 8 percent.
“It’s not going to get better in any likelihood between now and Christmas,” said Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen of surging COVID cases. “It’s likely that we will continue to see cases increase and that they will result in increased hospitalizations and unfortunately increased deaths in the county. The only way we can prevent this from happening is from individual behavior.”
