“On Monday, they will begin accepting reservations for vaccinations,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo. New Yorkers who are health-care workers, essential workers, or who are 75 or older will be eligible to sign up. “The new providers must prioritize their health care staff,” said Cuomo.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said he had spoken with local government leaders who are worried about the highly transmissible variant of COVID-19 from the United Kingdom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 52 cases of the variant, known as B.1.1.7, in the United States with 26 cases in California, 22 in Florida, two in Colorado, and one case each in Georgia and New York.

ALBANY COUNTY — Construction is complete on a new shared-use path for walkers and cyclists connecting the village of Menands to the Mohawk-Hudson Hike-Bike Trail along the Hudson River, which is also part of the newly completed Empire State Trail.

A series of free programs on brain health will be available to the public this month.

 ALBANY COUNTY — Ann Lee Pond in Colonie, and Thompson’s Lake in the Helderbergs are both popular for ice fishing and have public access to fishing. 

ALBANY COUNTY — Getting the COVID-19 vaccine into residents’ arms — as the county’s infection rate continues to top 10 percent and records for hospitalization were broken three times — was the focus of Albany County’s 43rd week of coping with the pandemic.

Ward Stone, Troy

ALBANY COUNTY — Local leaders — all of them Democrats — were quick to condemn the violent breach of the United States Capitol on Wednesday, which disrupted the Congressional count of electoral votes. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the highly transmissible strain from the United Kingdom, which was confirmed in a Saratoga County case on Monday, could be a “game changer” in the foot race to which he regularly alludes. The race pits vaccine implementation against the infection rate and hospital capacity.

“This U.K. strain changes the whole footrace because the U.K. strain, the rate of transmission goes way up, the rate of infection goes way up, and it’s no longer the race that we were running,” Cuomo said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Apparently, the U.K. strain can actually overtake the original COVID strain in a matter of weeks, that’s how quickly it can transmit.”