ALBANY COUNTY — The last report of an Albany County resident dying of COVID-19 came at the start of the county’s 70th week of coping with the coronavirus.

On July 8, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy reported the death of a man in his seventies, bringing the county’s death toll to 387.

While the death was a sobering reminder that, still, the virus is fatal, most of the numbers this week — statewide and at the county level — have been encouraging.

In his daily weekday releases, McCoy has reported only single-digit upticks in the number of cases — on Wednesday, he reported seven new cases, bringing the county’s tally to 24,462 as, at the same time, the vaccination rate slowly notches upward.

The state’s dashboard lists Albany County’s infection rate, as of Tuesday, as a seven-day average at 1.1 percent; statewide, the rate is 1.0 percent.

As of Wednesday evening, according to the state’s vaccine tracker, 65.6 percent of the county’s 307,117 residents had received at least one dose of vaccine while 76.3 percent of county residents 18 and older had at least one dose.

Comparatively, 61.29 percent of New Yorkers have had at least one dose while 73.4 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older have; 55.5 percent of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated.

In June, a Siena College survey found 15 percent of New Yorkers said they do not plan to get vaccinated while 73 percent said they are vaccinated and 10 percent plan to get vaccinated; 2 percent didn’t know.

New York’s vaccination numbers are ahead of the nationwide averages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 55.7 percent of Americans have received at least one dose while 48. 2 percent are fully vaccinated.

States with the lowest rates are largely in the South and Southwest along with Wyoming and Idaho. The Delta variant is now dominant and is causing an uptick in cases with low vaccination rates.

New York’s numbers have led to increased confidence in resuming normal activities.

According to a poll released Tuesday by the Siena College Research Institute, 68 percent of New Yorkers now think that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over while only 17 percent think the worst is still to come.

Over 70 percent are at least somewhat comfortable having friends over to their home (84 percent), going to a beach or lakefront (80 percent), going on vacation in the United States (78 percent), or eating indoors at a restaurant (77 percent).

At the same time, 47 percent are somewhat or very worried that they or a family member will become sick with the coronavirus while by 50 percent they think it likely that the state will experience a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

Over the course of the pandemic, 49 percent of New Yorkers have gained weight while 38 percent say that they have gotten in shape

Fifty-one percent have felt depressed during the pandemic while 44 percent say that they have developed a new interest or hobby.

Looking to the fall, 76 percent think it somewhat or very likely that many New Yorkers will continue to work remotely, 71 percent expect public schools will reopen to full in-person instruction without teachers or students wearing masks.

Schools

On Friday, July 9, as schools locally are planning for the next school year, the CDC issued new guidance, stressing the importance of learning in person “regardless of whether all of the prevention strategies can be implemented at the school.”

“For example,” the guidance says, “because of the importance of in-person learning, schools where not everyone is fully vaccinated should implement physical distancing to the extent possible within their structures (in addition to masking and other prevention strategies), but should not exclude students from in-person learning to keep a minimum distance requirement.”

July 15 was the deadline for schools to submit plans on how they plan to spend funds allocated by the federal government to help with expenses incurred by the pandemic.

Food aid

On July 13, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive the maximum allowable level of food benefits for July.

The agency is also working with the federal government to ensure this aid, which has brought in more than $2.5 billion in food assistance to New Yorkers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, will continue beyond July.

“The pandemic exposed glaring inequalities in food access across the state and only made it harder for the many families who were already struggling with food insecurity,” Cuomo said in a statement, making the announcement.

As of April 2021, there were more than 2.8 million SNAP recipients throughout the state, a 5 percent increase from April 2020.

SNAP households already receiving the maximum monthly benefit, and those that had been receiving an emergency allotment of less than $95 per month, will receive a minimum supplement of $95.

Nearly 1.6 million households in New York State will receive the supplemental benefits later this month, which will result in the state receiving roughly $200 million in federal assistance.

As with the prior months, the payments will be delivered directly to recipients’ existing Electronic Benefit Transfer account and can be accessed with their existing EBT card. Like regular SNAP benefits, the supplemental benefits can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores. Any unused SNAP benefits will be automatically carried over to the following month.