ALBANY COUNTY — While the news of death is always sad, both the county executive and the governor on Friday saw the decrease in deaths from COVID-19 as heading in the right direction.

Albany County lost just one resident, a man in his seventies, yesterday to the coronavirus disease 2019, bringing the county’s death toll to 113.

Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced at his Friday press briefing that the state has reached the lowest number of deaths and hospitalizations since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Yesterday, 42 New Yorkers died from COVID-19, down from a record-high of 800 eight weeks ago. The number of total hospitalizations statewide was down yesterday to 2,728 from a record-high of 18,825 during the peak of the pandemic.

“Today’s achievement is proof we know we can change, and we know we can change dramatically when we work together,” said Cuomo.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced at his Friday press briefing that the county now has 1,778 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 18 in the last 24 hours.

He had been worried about a spike two weeks after Memorial Day weekend but said there had been just “a little climb.”

The current concern is about the masses of people who congregated in Albany last weekend  protesting racial injustice. A walk-up test site for protesters and first responders ran on Warren Street in Albany, which McCoy termed “a big success.”

He said that 78 people were tested. Protesters will have another chance next Wednesday, from 9 to 11 a.m., to be tested for COVID-19 at the same site: Capital South Campus, 20 Warren Street, in Albany.

“If you don’t have insurance … the county’s going to pay for it,” said McCoy.

 Cuomo had announced on Thursday that the state is expanding COVID-19 testing criteria to include any individual who attended any of the recent protests across the state. He urged protesters to get tested.

McCoy urged first responders as well as protesters to call the county’s free mental-health helpline if they are experiencing stress, anxiety, or depression. The support line — 518-269-6634 — is 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.

As of Friday morning, 672 Albany County residents are under mandatory quarantine and three are under precautionary quarantine. The five-day average for new daily positives is now down to 15.6.

So far, 4,785 county residents have completed quarantine, with 1,416 of them having tested positive and recovered. That brings the county’s recovery rate to 79.64 percent.

Albany County has had three new hospitalizations since yesterday, and there are currently 15 county residents hospitalized, with three in intensive-care units. That brings the county’s hospitalization rate down to 0.84 percent.

McCoy said control-room discussions frequently focus on hospitalization rates.

“If our numbers stay the way they are … we might get into Phase 3 earlier,” McCoy said.

The state’s plan is set up with two-week intervals between each of four phases. The Capital Region, of which Albany County is a part, is scheduled to begin Phase 3, as long as the region continues to meet required metrics, on June 13.

McCoy noted that, beginning Monday morning, parking meter enforcement will start again in Albany.

During the shutdown, no tickets were issued for parking on city streets. “They will be out, issuing tickets,” said McCoy.