ALBANY COUNTY — The vast majority of Albany County residents who have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have had underlying health conditions.

That is true, too, of the latest casualties — a man and a woman, both in their eighties, who died on Wednesday. This brings the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 41.

“What does it mean to have an underlying health condition?” asked Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen, who went on to explain at the county’s press briefing on Wednesday.

In general, she said, people over the age of 65 are at risk as are those who live in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Whalen listed underlying health issues for people of all ages: chronic lung disease, moderate or severe asthma, a serious heart condition, and being immunocompromised.

Added to this list are people being treated for cancer, smokers, people who have had bone-marrow transplants, people with poorly controlled HIV or AIDs, and people who are on prolonged steroid medications.

Also, people who are severely obese, with a body mass index greater than 40, or people with diabetes or chronic kidney or liver disease.

“If you have these underlying conditions,” said Whalen, “it’s important you stay in touch with your doctor because, with all of these conditions, there is a big spectrum of illness between those who are poorly controlled and those who are well controlled.”

If patients stay in touch with their doctors and take their prescribed medications, Whalen said, they protect themselves.

“We are now having an opportunity on pause to make changes in our health that we might otherwise not have time for,” Whalen said.

When she worked as a primary-care doctor, Whalen said, and she would advise patients to exercise, she often got the response: “I don’t have time.”

“For those that now find themselves with time, please look at this time as an opportunity to look at your health and the health of those you love and live with,” urged Whalen.

She noted that it is easy to exercise at home and does not require fancy equipment. She also noted that doctors are now offering telemed visits for patients to stay in touch. She noted, too, that there is a smokers’ helpline.

Taking these measures, Whalen said, “will help protect you and take you out of a high-risk category.”

She concluded, “There’s no better time than now.”

Essential workers

At Thursday’s press briefing, Whalen made a plea for those who share households with essential workers to follow protocols.

The people hardest hit by COVID-19, she said, “are our elderly population, especially those in a nursing home or long-term care environment.”

She stressed that COVID-19 is “a very contagious disease.”

“We have an amazing essential worker population,” said Whalen. She described them as models, well-trained in infection control, knowing how to protect themselves by wearing masks, keeping social distance, and practicing good hand hygiene.

“If you live with an essential worker, you have a job, too,” she said. That means doing the same things — practicing good hand hygiene, wearing a mask in public, adhering to social distancing guidelines.

If these protocols aren’t followed, said Whalen, “You are placing at risk everyone your family member works with. This isn’t a group we’ve appealed to in the past.”

She noted that no one likes to report on mortalities and concluded, addressing people who live with health-care workers, “Your actions determine what happens in the community.”

Tallies

Also on Thursday morning, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced 1,120 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County, an increase of nearly 100 cases since Wednesday.

“We’re seeing higher numbers because we are aggressively testing,” he said.

Albany County now has 907 residents under mandatory quarantine and 22 under precautionary quarantine. As of Thursday, 2,286 residents have completed quarantine, with 562 of them having tested positive and recovered.

Currently, 34 county residents are hospitalized with COVID-19 and 10 of them are in intensive-care units. The hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 3.03 percent of those who have tested positive for the disease.

At Shaker Place, the county’s nursing home, 46 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, including two who have recovered. Additionally, 23 employees have tested positive, including four who have recovered and returned to work.