ALBANY COUNTY — “We’re just one paycheck from losing our businesses,” says Tess Collins, owner of McGeary’s Irish Pub.

She spoke at Friday’s county press briefing on behalf of Albany restaurant owners whom, she said, have become closer since the coronavirus pandemic.

“We meet, talk, get together because what a lot of the political people do not understand and what the main public doesn’t understand is things are changing for us all the time,” she said.

One big change came on Thursday when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that, although restaurants had not been scheduled to open until Phase 3 of the state four-phase plan, restaurants in any of the state’s regions now in Phase 2 — including the Capital Region — could begin offering outdoor dining.

“Because the numbers today are good we are going to act on the data that we have. We are going to go to outdoor dining as part of Phase 2,” said Cuomo.

He went on, “Remember what outdoor dining is: It is outdoors. That’s why it’s called, ‘outdoor dining.’ I know you have a lot of restaurants that want to open. This doesn’t say restaurants open. The enclosed spaces are an issue.

“Outdoor dining — there’s no roof, there could be a canopy, but it is outside space. It’s open-air space. The wind is blowing. There’s ventilation ... You’re still six feet apart, wear face coverings … It’s not a restaurant with the doors open. It is outdoor dining space.”

“A lot of us,” said Collins, “are just scared of doing the wrong thing. We want to be safe.”

She also said, of sherself and other restaurateurs, “We have to be able to make changes quickly and have the local government support us.” Perhaps referring to the protests that rocked Albany this past week, Collins continued, “It’s very different with COVID and everything else that is going on.”

She did not want to open McGeary’s right away, Collins said.

“I was afraid because here I’m going to be like a cop, a business owner, a community person, and then I’m going to be saying to people, ‘Please socially distance, please don’t do this, please don’t do that’ … Yesterday, I had to get on the microphone a couple of times and just remind everybody,” she said.

While customers are excited, after months of isolation, just to be going out, Collins said, “they need to be patient with the bar owners, the restaurants, and each other, and be kind to each other.”

Restaurateurs, she said, are navigating changes not just on a daily basis, but sometimes hourly. She goes home at night, after work, Collins said, and reads another hour to absorb all the new changes.

Right now, Collins is serving cafeteria-style, she said, “because I’m just so worried about doing everything in a proper way.”

And she’s putting only a few tables outside, she said, “because, if there’s rain, what are we doing to do with the population?”

“Some of us are bringing hand-sanitizers, gloves, masks to people in apartments. There’s the Feed Albany thing, still trying to bring food to people” said Collins.

She also said, “My neighbors have been wonderful to me … The Arbor Hill community has been wonderful and I also am very grateful to all the restaurant people.”

She suggested perhaps all the restaurants should get together and “come up with the same plan so the public isn’t frustrated with us.”