ALBANY COUNTY — On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo directed flags be flown at half-staff to honor those who have died of COVID-19; the flags are to remain at half-staff while the state is on pause with nonessential businesses closed and all gatherings prohibited until at least April 29.

The governor announced the same day the highest death toll yet in the state for a single day: 779. Although he said it looks like social distancing is flattening the curve, as hospitalizations drop, the death toll is rising. A total of 6,268 New Yorkers have died from COVID-19.

“Be responsible, not just for yourself, but to protect the vulnerable,” Cuomo urged at his press briefing on Wednesday. “Be responsible because the life you risk may not be your own.”

That same day, Albany County announced its ninth death — a woman in her 70s — from the coronavirus disease 2019. All of the county’s deaths have been of people over age 60 with underlying health issues.

Also on Wednesday, Cuomo acknowledged the start of Passover that night. “The message of Passover I know helps me today, and I offer to others to consider,” he said. “Passover says we remember the past. We learn from the past. We remember the lessons of the past. We teach a new generation those lessons. But, there is also a message of hope in Passover. Next year in Jerusalem. Next year the promised land. Next year will be better.”

Earlier in the week, Rabbi Roy Feldman of Congregation Beth Abraham-Jacob had said at an Albany County briefing, “Passover has been a time for family gatherings for thousands of years.”

He acknowledged that the people in his synagogue would “rather be all together” but explained how synagogues were instead offering guides for prayer and videoconferencing so that individuals, isolated in their homes, following the guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, could gather virtually for the Passover Seder.

“Why is this Passover different from all other Passovers?” he asked, echoing the question traditionally asked by the youngest child at a Passover Seder: Why is tonight different from all other nights?

Feldman said that staying home could save lives and gave what he called the Jewish perspective, first in Hebrew, and then in English: “Danger to life overrides any ritual needs whatsoever.”

He also said, “The Sabbath represents our observance of religion at home … We have an opportunity to strengthen our faith observance at home … teach our children … what Jewish homes look like.”

Since the county announced its first two positive tests for COVID-19 on March 12, the number has climbed to 330, announced Wednesday. Community testing had been halted two weeks ago as federal testing kits were in short supply.

Only hospitalized patients and exposed health-care workers were tested, making the numbers of confirmed cases appear to level off. Both the county’s health commissioner, Elizabeth Whalen, and the county’s executive, Daniel McCoy, stressed the importance of community testing.

On Monday, at the governor’s direction, a mobile testing site opened at the University at Albany, staffed by Albany Medical Center and St. Peter’s Health Partners. While the drive-through site is currently testing several hundred people daily it is expected to ramp up to 1,000 per day, McCoy said.

Most labs take 24 to 48 hours to return results, Whalen said.

She noted that the numbers for precautionary quarantine is down — just 43 on Wednesday while 441 are under mandatory quarantine — because “we don’t have any more mass gatherings.” Before, entire schools or church congregations, with 200 or 300 people, had to be quarantined if one of their number tested positive for the disease. Now, schools and churches are closed.

“The cases we get really don’t have that many contacts,” said Whalen.

On Wednesday, 37 county residents were hospitalized, with 13 of them in intensive-care units. The hospitalization rate, of those who tested positive, stands at 11.2 percent.

Hospitals here are not experiencing the same surge as downstate, said Whalen. “All of this leads us to believe we are not at our peak and we still need to be very vigilant,” said Whalen.

Most of those people currently testing positive are first responders and health-care workers, McCoy said earlier this week. That includes two paramedics from Guilderland whom the town supervisor, Peter Barber, reported were quarantined, asymptomatic, and comfortable at home.

Overall, Whalen said on Wednesday, about 30 percent of those who have tested positive are affiliated with health-care work.

Congressman Paul Tonko on Wednesday wrote a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, saying, “I urge and plead with you to advise the President to take stronger federal action under the Defense Production Act to ensure the supply of critical materials adequately matches the needs of our brave healthcare workers.”

Tonko called for both test kits and personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. He wrote further, “We should not be creating a ‘Hunger Games’ marketplace of PPE for our healthcare workforce. Federal leadership is necessary and essential to both coordinate and distribute production of testing kits, PPE, and ventilators.”

Interpreting the data she has thus far, Whalen said, “We have a really wide range of positives across every decade of life.” Currently about 7.5 percent of those tested for COVID-19 in Albany County were positive. Whalen said she expects that number to go up and stressed the importance of maintaining vigilance.

Once her department obtains data about the Albany County residents being tested at the UAlbany drive-through facility, she said that data will be tracked by ZIP code, age, race and ethnicity, hospitalization, and ventilation. Whalen said the data will be put together in a visually easy-to-view format.

Her department is working with the state’s health department, which now has a website with information broken down to the county level: NYSDOH COVID-19 Tracker.

Whalen noted there is concern that the disease could be disproportionately affecting the African-American population. She wants to make data available to the public so that the degree of problems within different communities can be understood.

Cuomo said in his Wednesday press briefing that he is asking State University of New York at Albany chief Dr. Havidán Rodriguez to head an effort, working with the state’s health department and Northwell Health, to see why more African-Americans and Latinos and people in low-income communities have higher rates of COVID-19 infection. “We’ll do more testing in minority communities now with more data research done now,” the governor said.

He also said, “It always seems that the poorest people pay the highest price. Why is that?”

Whalen said on Wednesday, “We are mindful not everybody has the means to get to the test site.” She said the goal is “to make sure there is test equity” and that options are being looked at to serve “high-needs neighborhoods.”

McCoy said the county may work with agencies to do mobile testing for people who can’t get to the UAlbany site.

Whalen concluded on testing data, “A big part is the denominator. The numbers become more meaningful when more people are tested.”

At Saturday’s briefing, McCoy said that COVID-19 hospital patients are dying without their families at their bedside. “Hospitals are shut down,” he said, explaining that, even for surgeries or childbirth, family members are not allowed.

Referring to doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff, McCoy said, “They have people around that are compassionate and loving but not their family.”

Throughout the week, McCoy has urged residents to “wake up” and observe protocols: stay six feet from others, wash hands, cover coughs, disinfect surfaces. He said on Wednesday that he had talked with the county’s district attorney about enforcing guidelines for people not to congregate. The governor has increased the fine for violations from $500 to $1,000.

Also throughout the week, McCoy has urged residents who are feeling anxious or depressed to call the county’s mental-health support line — 518-269-6634 — which has expanded its hours and is now available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at 518-549–6500.

The county also has videos on coping, martial arts, exercise, and more at its website.

For all COVID-19 questions and concerns, residents are encouraged to use United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline as well as the State Department of Health’s hotline at 888-364-3065.