ALBANY COUNTY — Since yesterday, Albany County has 27 new cases of COVID-19.

After two days with just one new case each, the county executive, Daniel McCoy, said at his Tuesday morning press briefing that he had been hopeful the spike caused by a Fourth of July party on Hudson Avenue in Albany was over and the number of cases wouldn’t continue to rise.

Over 200 college-age people had gathered in backyards there, not wearing masks and not keeping six feet from one another, McCoy said earlier. So far, 22 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 have been linked to the party.

“I was hoping that was just a fluke,” said McCoy of the spike caused by the party.

On Tuesday, though, McCoy noted that nine of the new cases were from residents who had close contact with someone who had COVID-19, five were from health-care workers who get tested weekly, and four were from travelers.

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced that 10 more states have been added to the list of states with high rates of COVID-19 infection. When people travel from those states to New York, they have to self-quarantine for 14 days.

The Albany County Health Department traces each new case of COVID-19 to try to discover its origin, requiring people who have potentially been infected to quarantine. Six of the new cases have no clear source of infection at this point, McCoy said. He termed those cases “scarier.”

Albany County now has  2,125 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 578 people under quarantine. The five-day average for new daily positive cases is now up to 11.8 from 9 on Monday.

Currently, the county has 77 active cases, up from 67 on Monday. So far, 6,574 county residents have completed quarantine, with 2,048 of them having tested positive and recovered.

Three county residents are hospitalized with one in an intensive-care unit. The county’s hospitalization rate remains at 0.14 percent. The county’s death toll for COVID-19 remains at 122.

“We’re not seeing the hospitalizations; we’re not seeing the ICUs or the intubations,” McCoy said, referencing the fallout of the mid-April spike in positive test results.

He said he could not explain why the virus was affecting people differently now.

Part of the answer may lie with the age of those who have been recently diagnosed.

As he has many times before, McCoy pointed to the county’s dashboard, tracking data on COVID-19, to show that those in the 20-to-29 age group continue to have the most cases, now at 405.

“These kids aren’t getting tested … They’re the ones going out and infecting everyone,” said McCoy.

He urged everyone to get tested and went over the various options:

— Walk-up testing in mobile sites in at-risk neighborhoods run by the county and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center; cal 518-465-4771;

—  Drive-through testing by the state at the uptown University at Albany campus; call 888-364-3065;

— Both diagnostic and antibody testing at Priority 1 Urgent Care in Guilderland; call 518-867-8040; or

— Drive-through testing at the Rite-Aid pharmacy in Colonie; go online to www.riteaid.com.

McCoy stressed that anyone can get tested now; originally, only those with symptoms or health-care workers were tested. “Go get tested,” he urged. “It takes three minutes.”

He also reiterated, “If you don’t have health care, we pay for it.”

McCoy said he anticipated a spike in COVID-19 cases with college students returning to local campuses.

He urged them to get tested, saying, “Do it for your parents. Do it for your grandparents. Do it for that aunt or uncle that you love.”

Gatherings

McCoy had opened Tuesday’s briefing by commenting on the summer weather and said, “The problem with nice weather is that people like to socially gather and stop following the rules.”

He alluded to the governor’s forceful statement on Monday that restaurants and bars would be closed down if patrons didn’t socially distance and wear masks.

“To the partiers who come out, I understand the frustration. I understand you’ve been inside for a long time. I understand you’re young. I understand people like to socialize …,” said Cuomo. “Don’t be stupid. What they’re doing is stupid and reckless for themselves and for other people. And it has to stop.”

Cuomo, at Monday’s press briefing, also addressed local governments on the issue.

“I’ve said repeatedly that the local governments are in charge of compliance and enforcement. If young people are going to come out and do something stupid, the local governments have to enforce the law ... And the police department has to enforce the law. And they are not doing it …

“We cannot allow those congregations to continue,” said Cuomo. “If it happens, I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. We’re going to have to roll back the opening plan. And we’re going to have to close bars and restaurants.”

On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that four downstate establishments have been shut down for violations. He said, “The restaurants and bars that encourage young people to congregate threaten to bring us back to the hell we experienced three months ago — yesterday, the State Liquor Authority suspended the liquor licenses of four bars and restaurants. This is a dangerous situation, and the bad operators will make it worse for themselves and everyone ….”

Since the onset of COVID, the liquor authority has brought 410 charges against establishments for violating executive orders and suspended 27 licenses for violations.

Last week, Cuomo had announced that bars could not serve alcohol alone; rather, alcohol can be served only with food.

“You can’t be bellied up to the bar,” McCoy said, noting a representative from the State Liquor Authority had been part of Monday’s control-room meeting, when leaders in the Capital Region discuss COVID-related matters with state officials.

“We didn’t have that much of an issue here in Albany County,” said McCoy, noting a bar on Broadway in Albany decided not to open because patrons couldn’t be trusted to follow the rules.

“People forget … as they’re having a good time,” said McCoy.

He also said, “We don’t want to roll back reopening.” McCoy said, rather, he has been fighting to let gyms and movie theaters open.

“The last thing we want to do is enforcing fines on businesses that are struggling,” he said.

McCoy did reiterate the executive order that kids playing sports have to compete regionally; no out-of-state travel is allowed. He cited a lacrosse team from Warren County, which is part of the Capital Region, that had traveled out of state and caused an outbreak.

“We’re getting the complaints in,” said McCoy. “We’ll be following through.”

He also noted that, at a county-run recreational program in Cohoes, an appreciative mother wrote to say she was in tears to see her child playing safely. 

A similar Summer Fun program will be run in Bethlehem from Aug. 10 to 14.

Travel

Cuomo announced Tuesday that 10 additional states with significant community spread of COVID-19 meet the metrics to qualify for the travel advisory. People traveling from those states and arriving in New York State have to quarantine for 14 days.

Last week, Cuomo instituted a $2,000 fine to penalize travelers from a listed state if they don’t fill out the required form upon arrival to New York. Enforcement teams have been placed at the state’s airports, including Albany International Airport.

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.

Minnesota has been removed from the list and Delaware, once removed, has been reinstated. These other states have also been added: Alaska, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington.

“As infection rates increase in 41 other states, our numbers continue to steadily decline, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our incremental, data-driven opening …. We must remain vigilant,” said Cuomo in making the announcement.

The list has grown from the original eight to 16, then 22, and now 30: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina,Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.