About two months ago, United Way established the Capital Region Community COVID-19 Response Fund and has so far raised over $800,000 with $650,000 already being given back to the community.

A team of 30 specially trained Red Cross Disaster Mental Health, Disaster Spiritual Care, and Health Services volunteers will be available to support families with their emotional and spiritual needs, as well as provide information and referrals to state and local agencies as well as other community organizations to help families meet their immediate needs.

“The way I like to think about it,” said Declan Duffy of missing the last half of his senior year at Albany Academy, “it’s taking the place of our final. It’s the hardest test we’ve had to go through in our lives but the easiest preparation. All we need to do is stay inside and keep each other safe.”

“It’s trial and error,” said McCoy on reopening. He had earlier mentioned the possibility of split shifts so workers could be spaced apart in their workplaces. “We’ve never been down this road,” he said on Saturday.

School board elections and budget votes, which are usually held the third Tuesday in May, will be held this year on June 9, according to an executive order issued today by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The votes will be conducted by mail and all qualified voters will be sent an absentee ballot with return postage paid.

The recent spike in positive cases of COVID-19 is the result of widespread testing in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, said Albany County commissioner of Health Elizabeth Whalen. Her department is now testing some asymptomatic workers in hopes of identifying employees that may be infected but unaware.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand supports the creation of a Health Force, which she described as “an AmeriCorps for health care.” She explained, “We’d train a million workers over the next two months.” These workers would do testing and contact tracing and, once a vaccine is developed, administer the vaccine.

The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York is, according to its director, eager to help people who need a lawyer’s advice when facing the repercussions of the shutdown meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that all schools and colleges in New York will remain closed for the rest of the academic year and will continue to provide distance learning.