What is Thanksgiving about? It’s about pilgrims coming to a new land, a harsh wilderness where many died, and celebrating their survival at harvest time with the natives who made their survival possible. We are now in that wilderness. We need to help each other survive. 

Although Albany County has come close to being named a yellow zone, it has so far avoided that designation — and the restrictions that would come with it.

ALBANY COUNTY — As the state continues its strategy of tamping down micro-clusters of COVID-19, Albany County, while experiencing a surge, has remained under the threshold that would bring new restrictions.

The Albany County website now has a map showing COVID-19 testing sites. The map lets users get directions to different locations, tells them wait times for results, and whether walk-ins are accepted.

School nurses can set up appointments for students with COVID-19 symptoms so they can get tested for the disease.

“The Black and brown communities that were first on the list of who died cannot be last on the list of who receives the vaccine,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo Sunday in a fiery sermon-like speech.

ALBANY COUNTY — As the nation sets records for new cases of COVID-19, so does Albany County.

The county hit an all-time high of new positive test results in a single day — 147.

Elizabeth Whalen, the county’s health commissioner, said that schools are bracing for what they will be required to do if micro-cluster zones are named in Albany County. Additional testing is required along with equipment, legal agreements, and laboratory capabilities, she said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says that New York’s panel of scientists, headed by a Nobel Prize laureate, will review the federal Food and Drug Administration process for approving a COVID-19 vaccine so that New Yorkers feel safe taking it.

ALBANY COUNTY — The Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District will have a vacancy on its board of directors beginning in early 2021. This appointment is for the board’s director-at-large who must live in the county.